Florida SC.8.L.18.1
The Standard
Describe and investigate the process of photosynthesis, such as the roles of light, carbon dioxide, water and chlorophyll; production of food; release of oxygen.
Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standards for Science
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students explain how plants use light energy to rearrange carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen. They investigate how changing light affects the process.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students correctly identify the inputs, outputs, energy source, and role of chlorophyll. They use evidence from an investigation to explain changes in photosynthesis rate.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think plants get food from soil or that sunlight is a material absorbed into glucose. They may also confuse photosynthesis with respiration or think plants only release oxygen.
How to Assess It
- Give students a diagram of a plant under light. Ask them to label the inputs and outputs, then explain chlorophyll's role in one sentence.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Place equal Elodea sprigs under bright and dim lamps, count bubbles for five minutes, and compare the results.
Ask students to write a response to: Where does most of a tree's mass come from, and what evidence supports your claim?
Use input-output cards for light, water, carbon dioxide, glucose, and oxygen, then have teams race to build an accurate photosynthesis model.
Compare greenhouse lighting schedules and ask students to recommend one that supports plant growth while limiting electricity use.
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Printable SC.8.L.18.1 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to SC.8.L.18.1, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
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Related Standards
- SC.3.L.14.2
Investigate and describe how plants respond to stimuli (heat, light, gravity), such as the way plant stems grow toward light and their roots grow downward in re...
- SC.3.L.14.1
Describe structures in plants and their roles in food production, support, water and nutrient transport, and reproduction.
- SC.8.L.18.2
Describe and investigate how cellular respiration breaks down food to provide energy and releases carbon dioxide.
- SC.3.L.17.2
Recognize that plants use energy from the Sun, air, and water to make their own food.
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