Teacher Guide: Teaching Smarter Science Inquiry
Framework Using Photosynthesis LabGizmo
Learning Objectives
Students will…
 Discover that plants require light, water, and carbon dioxide for photosynthesis.
 Understand that oxygen is produced by photosynthesis.
o Increased oxygen production indicates more rapid rates of photosynthesis.
o Decreased oxygen production indicates slower rates of photosynthesis.
 Determine how temperature, light intensity, and carbon dioxide levels affect rates of
photosynthesis.
 Observe that the color of light can affect the rate of photosynthesis.
o Explain why photosynthesis works most slowly under green light.
 Explore the concept of limiting factors. (Extension)
o In a given situation, determine which required substance is in shortest supply and
therefore limits the rate of photosynthesis.
Vocabulary
carbon dioxide, chlorophyll, glucose, limiting factor, nanometer, photosynthesis, wavelength
Lesson Overview
In the Photosynthesis LabGizmo, students can
monitor the rate of photosynthesis by measuring
the rate of oxygen production. Students can alter
variables such as temperature, carbon dioxide
levels, light intensity, and light's wavelength and
observe and measure the corresponding changes
to the rate of photosynthesis.
Through this lesson, students will gain experience using
the Smarter Science inquiry framework; following an
A plant undergoing photosynthesis
investigative process that includes asking questions,
designing experiments, collecting and analyzing
observations, and discussing conclusions.
Materials
 Smarter Science “Initiate and Plan” 4 poster series or handouts
 Post-it note pads, 2 colors per group
Lesson Sequence
1. Prior to using the Gizmo
Before students are at the computers, assess student knowledge using the Student
Exploration Guide - Prior Knowledge questions.


To survive, what gas do we need to breathe in?
Where is this gas produced?
Discuss student answers as a class, but do not correctany misconceptions or
assumptions.
Afterwards, introduce the Gizmo and describe what it does. Do not demonstrate how it
works – allow the students to discover the functionality. Note: simply by playing with the
Gizmo will build the context for inquiry to start.
2. Gizmo activities
Assign pairs of students to computers (if sufficient computers are available for all
students to have their own, still pair them up for discussion purposes).
3. Learning Objective 1 – orientation to Gizmo, discovery and initial observations
 Allow students time just to play with the Gizmo and discover how it works.
 Encourage them to pay attention to what happens (observations)
 Use post-it notes and the Smarter Science – Initiate & Plan - Step 1 Starburst
poster to record student responses.Each student should record at least one
observation. Outcome might look like this:

4. Learning Objective 2 – Interpreting quantitative observations
 Give students the first challenge (Challenge 1– Obtain the highest rate of
Oxygen production) to get them oriented and understanding how the Gizmo
works. Offer little help at this stage. Direct students to ask their partner questions
or figure it out themselves.
 Collect the responses for “highest rate of Oxygen production”. Have the group
with the highest rate of Oxygen production describe the conditions to get that.
 All groups conduct trial with those conditions. What happened?
 Discussion:
i. Was there variability in the results? Yes/No. Try to explain why.
ii. Which of: light intensity, CO2 level, color and temperature had the
greatest effect on oxygen production? Why do you think that is so?
5. Learning Objective 3 – Practice
 Have students attempt a second challenge (Challenge 2 – Obtain 40 mL/h
Oxygen production)
 Discuss the various ways students will have discovered to accomplish this goal.
 Revisit the Starburst diagram. Are there any behaviors/observations that need to
be added?
6. Learning Objective 4 - observing the experimental control conditions


Tip: Refresh the browser (
) to clear all previous experiments.
All students conduct the same trial to establish the control:
i. Temperature to 24°C
ii. Light intensity to 50%
iii. CO2 level to 200ppm.

Record observations on the Smarter Science – Initiate & Plan - Step 1 Observing
and Questioning poster. Outcome might look like this:
7. Extract the control conditions data using the camera snapshot tools and paste in another
document for reference.
8. Gather questions that students might be wondering about that could be tested with the
Gizmo. This works well if every student writes one question on a sticky note and shares
it on the poster. Sort the similar questions together. Some more complex questions the
teacher might offer could include:

What does it mean for an experiment to be fair or controlled? If you are testing
the effect of one variable, such as light intensity, what should you do with the
remaining variables?

Are results for the same experiment always exactly the same? Why or why not?
How much data do you need before your results can be trusted?

What will the graphs look like when the color of the light is green?

How does the amount of CO2 affect photosynthesis?
9. Learning Objective 4 – Identifying variables for scientific inquiry
 Using theSmarter Science – Initiate & Plan - Step 2 poster, have students identify
i. What can I measure or observe in this Gizmo?
ii. What can I change about the Gizmo that may affect what I can measure
or observe?
 Note: it can be useful to also identify what is automatically controlled in the
Gizmo but could be a variable when conducting the actual experiment
 Gather their input on post-it notes. Note: Use different color post-it notes for i.
and ii.above. Outcome might look like this:
10. Students are now set up to do many combinations of their own controlled experiments.
To start them off, conduct this challenge together:
 Challenge 3 - How does temperature affect rate of photosynthesis?
 Move the independent (temperature), dependent (oxygen production) and control
variables to the Smarter Science – Initiate & Plan - Step 3 poster. Outcome might
look like this:
11. Students should complete one trial and then predict the outcome with a change in the
temperature using Smarter Science – Initiate & Plan - Step 4. A great way for students to
summarize their observations could incorporate the camera tool (
)
Test additional questions and debrief summarizing the observations.
About the Author
This lesson plan was prepared by Mark Roxas, currently a teacher candidate at the University of
Toronto - Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.