Describes activities on two storage organs, carrots and radishes, which are plants that store some of the food their leaves make in modified roots, stems, and even leaves. (ASK)

Presents a project that allows students to observe and show how quickly pollutants in the air and on the ground destroy plant life. Appropriate for grades four through six. (JRH)

Describes an open-ended activity in which students build a "plant" that launches its seeds as far as possible to study the dispersal strategies of various plants. Recommends extension activities for elementary- and secondary-level students. (WRM)

Classroom plant activities have long been inexpensive, easy to do, and fun for students, and have become more central to biology teaching. Introduces some plant science activities and their pleasures and pitfalls. (ASK)

Describes an activity that reduces the biosphere to a water-filled jar to simulate the relationship between cellular respiration, photosynthesis, and energy. Allows students in high school biology and related courses to explore quantitatively cellular respiration and photosynthesis in almost any laboratory setting. (ASK)

Describes an activity demonstrating the importance of photoperiod on plant development. Uses the plant devil's backbone for the experiment and studies the details of photoperiodic requirement for plantlet formation. (Contains 12 references.) (YDS)

Presents ways to use ChiaPets to link biology-related topics such as taxonomy, morphology, ethnobotany, economic botany, hydroponics, salinity, photomorphogenesis, and phototropism with food and fertilizer chemistry, mathematics, art, and history. (MKR)

Discusses Knob's solution, which was considered the ideal plant growth solution in 1865, and recommends eliminating Knob's solution from active teaching. Describes solution culture basics including nutrient solutions, containers and aeration, and plants and light. (Contains 12 references.) (YDS)

Introduces the plant Amaryllis, which is the common name for the Hippeastrum species. Describes how to grow and bloom Amaryllis in soil using hydroponics. Introduces experiments investigating the anatomy of the bulb, growing and elongation rates, the flower, and foliage. (Contains 21 references.) (YDS)

Consumer chemistry projects using houseplant fertilizers are described. Background information on fertilizer elements and different brands are discussed. The procedures for the activities (reading fertilizer labels, calculating the cost of various fertilizers, and calculating the amount of nitrogen in solution) are included. (KR)

Presents three activities using pearl onion bulbs to illustrate plant growth and plant propagation under various conditions. (WRM)

Presents several activities designed to teach students about the characteristics, classification, life cycle, and uses of the luffa (gourd). (WRM)

States that the ecological role of Sphagnum species in peatlands is enormous. Presents a cation exchange experiment and background information on the characteristics and economic importance of Sphagnum. Contains 42 references. (DDR)

Enables students to examine the time course for seed imbibition and the pressure generated by imbibing seeds. Provides background information, detailed procedures, and ideas for further investigation. (DDR)

Botany meets computer science in this activity, which challenges students to create a computerized seed catalog. Class members work together to develop a database of plants, much like the major seed companies do. (PR)