Audience
Educators
Grade Levels
Grades 5-8, Grades 9-12
Subject
Physical Science, Technology, Waves, Chemistry, Energy, Matter and Its Properties, Light, Space Station
Type
Lesson Plans / Activities, Videos
Did you know astronauts are studying the effects of microgravity on plant growth? In this STEMonstration, astronaut Sultan Alneyadi tours the station’s plant growing facilities and delves into the process of photosynthesis. Learn about the experiments and how they are designed to optimize plant growth and food production in space. In the corresponding Classroom Connection, learn more about photosynthesis and predict how changing the variables of light, water, or carbon dioxide in the photosynthesis process might impact the health of a plant.
Classroom Connection: Photosynthesis
Grade Levels: 6-12
Time Required: 2 – 2 1/2 Hours over 6 Days.
Next Generation Science Standards
MS-LS1-6. Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for the role of photosynthesis in the cycling of matter and flow of energy into and out of organisms.
HS-LS1-5. Use a model to illustrate how photosynthesis transforms light energy into stored chemical energy.