My students need test tubes with stoppers, bottle brushes to clean them, and dropper glass bottles to mix BTB so they can see the effects of photosynthesis in Elodea as it photosynthesizes.
My students are our future scientists! They energetically enter the class, smiling, giving out fist bumps, and they are full of curiosity. They are unstoppable at solving problems, and designing innovative solutions.
They are creative, courageous, and enthusiastic problem solvers.
We need to give them the tools they need today, to strengthen their skills for tomorrow. They love conquering challenges. We need these kinds of innovators in our communities. There isn't a day that goes by where they don't demonstrate that they will make a difference in our world!
My Project
Photosynthesis is a concept that is studied, yet not often seen in action. When Elodea, a common water plant is suspended in bromothymol blue (BTB), a pH indicator, in test tubes, an amazing change takes place. When Elodea is placed in the sun, the plants process the CO2 and make oxygen through photosynthesis. This turns the BTB from yellow to blue. Yellow is acidic from the carbon dioxide (CO2), blue is not acid, because the plants remove the CO2. It will then turn back to yellow over night since without light, photosynthesis stops and the CO2 builds back up, making the BTB solution acidic or yellow again.
Students can actually SEE photosynthesis in action!
Students can mix their solutions of BTB plus distilled water and keep it in glass Dropping Bottles for this experiment. They fill the large glass test tubes with their solutions and Elodea sprigs, use stoppers so CO2 does not seep in. Over a 24 hour period the color changes occur showing what photosynthesis looks like in action. After this is all done, just like scientists, they clean up their labs using the test tube brushes.
My students will never forget what photosynthesis looks like, or that you cared enough to give them a hand up when they needed it to reach a brighter future.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. C. and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.