Blog Archives
Bean there, done that…
Plant Science is one of my favourite topics for HL students as it is a real opportunity to link many of the core ideas of Biology together. Think of it not just as a series of out-of-context assessment statements to check off, but as a chance to revise everything you have learned so far.
Consider this diagram of germination. How many links across the syllabus can you make? Try pasting the image into the middle of a large sheet of paper and surrounding it with explanations of all the concepts that link to it. It could form the centrepiece of a Prezi or a concept map, or simply a large revision poster.
- Germination – how many links can you make across the curriculum?
This image is adapted from a diagram at Click4Biology. For some of my suggestions of how this diagram alone represents over 20 links across the curriculum, click here: Bean there, done that…
Ctrl-A Del: Sorting out the flowers
Interesting news today from the Guardian: “Scientists prune list of world’s plants“. 600,000 species of flowering plants have been deleted from the records in an impressive piece of international cooperation.
And no, that’s not because 600,000 have gone extinct (although so many are rapidly disappearing)- it’s because so many were duplicates with different names. By sorting out the list, botanists hope to make it easier for ecologists to keep track of genuinely newly discovered species, as well as more effectively monitor species over time.
This is a nice link to the Classification unit, and highlights the importance of international cooperation in the sciences. It was part of an effort for the Convention of Biological Diversity, which meet this October in Japan. It also links to the Ecology and Conservation option.
Here is a short interview with Dr Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, discussing why all of the member countries have failed to reach their targets, and why it is important to engage all stakeholders in the process of conservation:
Reproduction in Angiospermophytes
Here is the class presentation:
This is a quick topic, though it has some tricky bits in.
I’d recommend a review of transcription and translation when going through the photoperiodism section.
Now we’re finished with the unit, all of the presentations have been posted on the Plant Science Page.
Plant and Soil Sciences eLibrary
With all the webspace devoted to genetics and biotechnology at the moment, it’s great to stumble upon a site that is bringing ‘old school’ Science into the new millenium. Though no-one seems to call it botany any more!
The Plant and Soil Science eLibrary hosts a collection of animations on plant science topics and cell biology that are useful, clear and can be easily downloaded. They are all also available in Spanish and many have pdf help notes for students.
The site is designed primarily for people who wish to earn credit for further studies in crop science and contains such units as plant physiology, crop technology and nutrition technology. There’s even some genetics in there.
Click on the image to see their transpiration example.
i-Biology 
