3 Easy Biology Experiments Related to Plants

If you’re a biology teacher for students K-12 and you’re currently or will soon be focusing on lessons about plants, then you may want to engage your students in some fitting experiments. The sky is the limit when it comes to choosing some experiments that pertain to plants. However, if you want to choose the absolute best biology experiments related to plants, then here are three possibilities.

Creating Oxygen in a Jar

Your school-age students will truly enjoy creating oxygen with this exciting plant-themed biological experiment. This experiment will show how plants undergo the process of photosynthesis in order to create their own food by utilizing the sun. Students can also learn how the leaf uses energy from the sun to change the water into oxygen from carbon dioxide, making the bubbles of oxygen visible. Here is an overview of this particular experiment that your students will find fascinating:

Materials needed:

  • Water
  • A wide-mouth glass jar
  • A freshly picked green leaf
  • A Magnifying glass

Instructions:

  1. Place the water into the jar and add the leaf
  2. Place the jar in a sunny location.
  3. Allow the jar to become warm before using a magnifying glass to examine the leaf
  4. Your students will be able to see thousands of tiny bubbles that have materialized on the leaf and inside the jar. The tiny bubbles are the oxygen that is being excreted from the leaf.

After performing this experiment with one leaf, you can have your students try the same experiment with other types of leaves and vegetables. You could even have them add salt or sugar to the water, use a straw to blow bubbles into the water before adding the leaf or vegetable, and more.

Growing Plant Seeds in a Jar

This is another biology lab experiment that your students will enjoy, and here are the materials that you’ll need as well as the instructions:

Materials:

  • A quart-sized glass or plastic jar/container
  • Water
  • Several paper towels
  • Various seeds of your choice (you can use dry beans from your kitchen, apple seeds, or any other type of seeds that you believe your students would enjoy watching grow.)

Instructions:

  1. Fill the jar with paper towels.
  2. Moisten the paper towels with water and make certain that you saturate them without filling the jar with water.
  3. Carefully place the seeds in the jar. Make certain that they are in a position that allows you to watch them as they grow. Ensure they’re in a comfortable position and cannot move.
  4. The more seeds you decide to experiment with, the more seeds your students can watch grow. Your students will also be able to determine which seeds thrive in this type of environment, and which don’t.

If you desire, you can vary this experiment in order to make it more interesting. You could ask your students to explain how the seeds obtain their water in order to grow. You can also have them write down the results that they find, which can be used for future reference.

Growing a Colony of Mold

Your students are likely to find this experiment extremely fun and interesting. Mold is usually a biological item that people want to refrain from growing but growing a full colony of mold for experimental purposes could be quite fun. Here is an overview of this experiment:

Materials:

  • A lemon
  • A jar
  • Water
  • Some aluminum foil
  • A magnifying glass

Instructions:

  1. Place the lemon in the jar and add a small amount of water.
  2. Using the aluminum foil, cover the lid tightly before placing the jar in a warm, dark place.
  3. Allow the container to remain in the chosen area for a week or more.
  4. Remove the lemon and use the magnifying glass to inspect the mold that has grown.
  5. Once you have finished inspecting the mold, throw the lemon in the trash and wash your hands thoroughly. Return the aluminum foil cover.

This experiment can be performed using different fruits in order to see if there are any differences. Your students will learn how mold is useful in breaking down organic material, as mold consumes the decaying fruit for food. You can also instruct your students to add salt or vinegar to the water to determine if this slows down the rate of decay.

These three plant-based biology lab experiments are just some of the many possible choices available. If you’re struggling to find new ideas for the latest and the best biology lab experiments and possibly even materials and equipment, then you should visit Modern Biology, Inc. Modern Biology, Inc. is a comprehensive online store that offers biology teachers and instructors access to a wide variety of everything needed in order to teach effectively and keep students interested and engaged. You can find unlimited biological experiments, supplies, equipment, and much more. Contact us and order yours today!