How organisms affect the environment
From 2014, students should learn how organisms affect, and are affected by, their environment, including the accumulation of toxic materials.
This is a very broad statement in the new national curriculum which can be explored in many ways, from food webs to ecology. We've highlighted some more unusual resources which give the learning up to date contexts which students will be able to relate to.
Visit the secondary science webpage to access all lists: https://www.stem.org.uk/secondary-science
Whilst this list provides a source of information and ideas for experimental work, it is important to note that recommendations can date very quickly. Do NOT follow suggestions which conflict with current advice from CLEAPSS, SSERC or recent safety guides. eLibrary users are responsible for ensuring that any activity, including practical work, which they carry out is consistent with current regulations related to Health and Safety and that they carry an appropriate risk assessment. Further information is provided in our Health and Safety guidance.
Key Stage Three: How Plants Guzzle *suitable for home teaching*
Students will be more used to considering how changes in the environment affect plants and animals, but this resource allows students to investigate how plants can change the environment.
Scientists have been working on innovative ways of cleaning up the environment. Some of the most exciting of these have been in the world of biological remediation.This is the use of various organisms from microbes to plants to clean up and remove materials from heavy metals to TNT. The use of plants in this process is called phytoremediation and such plants are known as hyperaccumulators.
These activities can be linked to news items about the housing shortage and whether we should be buiding on green field sites or using brown field sites - this could generate a lively debate as an introduction to the practical work.
Many brown field sites include land that has previously been subjected to industrial dumping. People have used copper, in particular, since the Bronze Age and have subsequently been adding copper and copper compounds to the environment. These accumulate over time and are detrimental to the environment, so cleaning up this waste is becoming increasingly important in the search for land for house building. Plants take up this copper as it is an essential part of their photosynthetic pathway; however too much can damage their roots and stunt growth.
Ecological Survey
Using the context of land remediation, this resource describes a series of investigations to measure the distribution of plants and animals, including a range of sampling techniques and the measurement of abiotic factors such as soil conditions, temperature and light intensity.
Curriculum links include biodiversity, succession, bioremediation, transition of species in changing habitats, sampling techniques such as line transects, distribution, adaptation, food webs and how organisms affect, and are affected by, their environment.
These activities are generally suitable for surveying in the school grounds but they can also be applied to other locations
