Search Results

5 Minute Preview

Investigate the growth of three common garden plants: tomatoes, beans, and turnips. You can change the amount of light each plant gets, the amount of water added each day, and the type of soil the seed is planted in. Observe the effect of each variable on plant height, plant mass, leaf color and leaf size. Determine what conditions produce the tallest and healthiest plants. Height and mass data are displayed on tables and graphs.

5 Minute Preview

Study the production and use of gases by plants and animals. Measure the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in a test tube containing snails and elodea (a type of plant) in both light and dark conditions. Learn about the interdependence of plants and animals.

FREE with no time limit!

5 Minute Preview

In this follow-up to Fast Plants^® 1 - Growth and Genetics, continue to explore inheritance of traits in Wisconsin Fast Plants. Infer the genotype of a "mystery P2 parent" of a set of Fast Plants based on the traits of the P1, F1, and F2 plants. Then create designer Fast Plants by selectively breeding plants with desired traits.

FREE with no time limit!

5 Minute Preview

Grow Wisconsin Fast Plants^® in a simulated lab environment. Explore the life cycles of these plants and how their growth is influenced by light, water, and crowding. Practice pollinating the plants using bee sticks, then observe the traits of the offspring plants. Use Punnett squares to model the inheritance of genes for stem color and leaf color for these plants.

5 Minute Preview

Observe the steps of pollination and fertilization in flowering plants. Help with many parts of the process by dragging pollen grains to the stigma, dragging sperm to the ovules, and removing petals as the fruit begins to grow. Quiz yourself when you are done by dragging vocabulary words to the correct plant structure.

5 Minute Preview

Explore the processes of photosynthesis and respiration that occur within plant and animal cells. The cyclical nature of the two processes can be constructed visually, and the simplified photosynthesis and respiration formulae can be balanced.

5 Minute Preview

Select a sample cell from an animal, plant, or bacterium and view the cell under a microscope. Select each organelle on the image to learn more about its structure and function. Closeup views and animations of certain organelles is provided.

5 Minute Preview

Label a diagram that illustrates the anatomy of a flower, and understand the function of each structure. Compare the processes of self pollination and cross pollination, and explore how fertilization takes place in a flowering plant.

5 Minute Preview

Plant seeds and watch how many sprout. Examine what factors affect germination. Vary the amount of heat, water, and light the seeds get. Practice designing controlled experiments and using the scientific method.

Video Preview

As an agricultural scientist, students help a strawberry farmer who is having problems with low fruit production. Students learn about the factors involved in fruit production including plant nutrients, pollination and bees, and the interaction with the environment.

Video Preview

There has been an outbreak of legionnaires’ disease in a small town. This disease is caused by legionella bacteria that proliferate in contaminated water supplies. Students take on the role of a civil engineer to investigate how the water treatment plant has failed to get rid of all the contaminants in the water and design a new method.

5 Minute Preview

Use genetic engineering techniques to create corn plants resistant to insect pests or tolerant of herbicides. Identify useful genes from bacteria, insert the desired gene into a corn plant, and then compare the modified plant to a control plant in a lab setting.

5 Minute Preview

Perform experiments with several seed types to see what conditions yield the highest germination (sprouting) rate. Three different types of seeds can be studied, and the temperature, water and light in the germination chamber can be controlled. No two trials will have the same result so repeated trials are recommended.

5 Minute Preview

Study photosynthesis in a variety of conditions. Oxygen production is used to measure the rate of photosynthesis. Light intensity, carbon dioxide levels, temperature, and wavelength of light can all be varied. Determine which conditions are ideal for photosynthesis, and understand how limiting factors affect oxygen production.

5 Minute Preview

Plant flowers in two gardens to help develop fraction sense. The two gardens act as number lines, from 0 to 1. Use the flowers in the gardens to compare fractions and to explore equivalent fractions. Chalk marks can be drawn to divide the garden into equal sections.

5 Minute Preview

Compare average temperatures, precipitation, humidity, and wind speed for a variety of locations across the globe. Explore the influence of latitude, proximity to oceans, elevation, and other factors on climate. Observe how animals and plants are adapted to climate and their environment. This lesson uses metric units.

5 Minute Preview

Compare average temperatures, precipitation, humidity, and wind speed for a variety of locations across the globe. Explore the influence of latitude, proximity to oceans, elevation, and other factors on climate. Observe how animals and plants are adapted to climate and their environment. This lesson uses U.S. customary units.

5 Minute Preview

Observe the populations of grass, prairie dogs, ferrets and foxes in a prairie ecosystem. Investigate feeding relationships and determine the food chain. Bar graphs and line graphs show changes in populations over time.

5 Minute Preview

Measure the height, diameter, and circumference of trees in a forest. Count growth rings to determine the age of each tree. Grow the trees for several years and investigate how growth is affected by precipitation.

5 Minute Preview

In this follow-up to the Genetic Engineering Gizmo, explore how farmers can maximize yield while limiting ecosystem damage using genetically modified corn. Choose the corn type to plant and the amount of herbicide and insecticide to use, then measure corn yields and monitor wildlife populations and diversity. Observe the long-term effects of pollutants on a nearby stream ecosystem.

FREE with no time limit!

5 Minute Preview

Follow the path of a carbon atom through the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere. Manipulate a simplified model to see how human activities and other factors affect the amount of atmospheric carbon today and in the future.

5 Minute Preview

Explore a wide variety of cells, from bacteria to human neurons, using a compound light microscope. Select a sample to study, then focus on the sample using the coarse and fine focus controls of the microscope. Compare the structures found in different cells, then perform tests to see if the sample is alive.

5 Minute Preview

Where does energy come from? How does energy get from one place to another? Find out how electrical current is generated and how living things get energy to move and grow. Trace the path of energy and see how energy is converted from one form to another.

FREE with no time limit!

Video Preview

As a marine biologist students learn about photosynthesis to help scientists in Australia determine why the coral in the Great Barrier Reef is bleaching.

Video Preview

An infant on a farm has blue baby syndrome. As an EPA environmental engineer, students must find the cause of the baby's illness. Using environment data, students learn the importance of the nitrogen cycle and how human factors can impact nature.

Video Preview

There has been an outbreak of legionnaires’ disease in a small town. This disease is caused by legionella bacteria that proliferate in contaminated water supplies. Students take on the role of an environmental chemist to investigate the source of legionella and use stoichiometry to decontaminate the water supply and remediate the disease outbreak.

FREE with no time limit!

5 Minute Preview

Follow the path of a carbon atom through the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere. Manipulate a simplified model to see how human activities and other factors affect the amount of atmospheric carbon today and in the future.

FREE with no time limit!

Video Preview

As a marine biologist students learn about photosynthesis to help scientists in Australia determine why the coral in the Great Barrier Reef is bleaching.

FREE with no time limit!

5 Minute Preview

Grow Wisconsin Fast Plants^® in a simulated lab environment. Explore the life cycles of these plants and how their growth is influenced by light, water, and crowding. Practice pollinating the plants using bee sticks, then observe the traits of the offspring plants. Use Punnett squares to model the inheritance of genes for stem color and leaf color for these plants.

FREE with no time limit!

5 Minute Preview

In this follow-up to Fast Plants^® 1 - Growth and Genetics, continue to explore inheritance of traits in Wisconsin Fast Plants. Infer the genotype of a "mystery P2 parent" of a set of Fast Plants based on the traits of the P1, F1, and F2 plants. Then create designer Fast Plants by selectively breeding plants with desired traits.

Video Preview

As an agricultural scientist, students help a strawberry farmer who is having problems with low fruit production. Students learn about the factors involved in fruit production including plant nutrients, pollination and bees, and the interaction with the environment.

Video Preview

There has been an outbreak of legionnaires’ disease in a small town. This disease is caused by legionella bacteria that proliferate in contaminated water supplies. Students take on the role of a civil engineer to investigate how the water treatment plant has failed to get rid of all the contaminants in the water and design a new method.

FREE with no time limit!

Video Preview

As a marine biologist students learn about photosynthesis to help scientists in Australia determine why the coral in the Great Barrier Reef is bleaching.

Video Preview

An infant on a farm has blue baby syndrome. As an EPA environmental engineer, students must find the cause of the baby's illness. Using environment data, students learn the importance of the nitrogen cycle and how human factors can impact nature.

Video Preview

There has been an outbreak of legionnaires’ disease in a small town. This disease is caused by legionella bacteria that proliferate in contaminated water supplies. Students take on the role of an environmental chemist to investigate the source of legionella and use stoichiometry to decontaminate the water supply and remediate the disease outbreak.