Transformations in Matter and Energy Carbon TIME is an NSF-funded partnership led by Michigan State University
Activity 4.1: Molecular Models for Potatoes Moving and Functioning: Cellular Respiration (40 min)
Target Student Performance
Students use molecular models to explain how carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen atoms in glucose and oxygen molecules are rearranged into carbon dioxide and water in a potato plant’s cells.
Resources You Provide
- (From previous lesson) Students’ unanswered questions they shared in Activity 3.5 Evidence-Based Arguments Tool for Plants
- (From previous lesson) 3.5 Evidence-Based Arguments Tool for Plants
- molecular model kit (1 per pair of students)
- scissors (1 per pair of students)
- twist ties (at least 12 per pair of students)
- video of a plant moving, such as here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LICDb8nM5rs
Resources Provided
- 4.1 Molecular Models for Potato Cellular Respiration PPT
- 4.1 Molecular Models for Cellular Respiration Worksheet (1 per student)
- 4.1 Grading the Molecular Models for Potato Cellular Respiration Worksheet
Recurring Resources
- Molecular Models 11 x 17 Placemat
- Forms of Energy Cards
- Three Ways to Represent Glucose 11 x 17 Poster
Setup
Prepare one model kit, one Molecular Models 11 x 17 Placemat, one pair of scissors, and one set of the Forms of Energy Cards for each pair of students. Print one copy of the 4.1 Molecular Models for Cellular Respiration Worksheet > for each pair of students. Prepare a computer and a projector to display the PPT. Retrieve the materials from Activity 3.5. This may include PPT slides from the lesson in which you typed students’ unanswered questions or a photograph of their unanswered questions.
Assessment
Listen to students’ ideas about how plants get energy to move. Are they able to make connections to the results from the Plants in the Dark Investigation? Are they able to make connections to their experiences with the molecular modeling of cellular respiration?
If you had students complete the molecular modeling part of this activity, use 4.1 Grading the Molecular Models for Cellular Respiration Worksheet to get a sense of students’ initial ideas and explanations about cellular respiration in plants. Students should be able to follow instructions and complete the worksheet correctly, so it is reasonable to grade this worksheet.
Tips
- You may want to display the results from the investigations from Lesson 3.
- Have students record their ideas about how plants get energy to move on individual posters.
- You may want to laminate the Molecular Models 11 x 17 Placemat. These will be used multiple times in each unit.
- If you choose to do the optional molecular models piece, stress that although we are using twist ties to represent energy, energy is actually not made of matter/molecules!