A class tests how far a lamp sits from a sprig of elodea and counts the bubbles of oxygen the plant gives off each minute. This 3-page 5th grade sheet shows the setup and a four-row table, from 40 bubbles at 10 cm down to 5 bubbles at 40 cm. Students answer two questions, plot the four points on a graph and write a conclusion about light and photosynthesis. Page 3 is the answer key with the points to plot.
“Plot data from a results table on a line graph and use the pattern to explain how light affects photosynthesis.”
Item 3 is the graph and item 4 asks for the conclusion, with the oxygen question in item 2 linking the bubbles to photosynthesis.
A labeled picture of a lamp, a test tube with elodea and a ruler marked 0 to 40 cm, beside a table of distance and bubbles per minute.
Students give the distance with the most bubbles and name the gas in the bubbles. Each answer has two lines.
A blank grid with distance from the lamp (0 to 40 cm) across the bottom and bubbles per minute (0 to 45) up the side. Students plot four points and join them with a line.
A boxed sentence that starts As the light gets farther away, the plant makes ___ oxygen because, with four lines for the reason.
The four points to plot, (10, 40), (20, 25), (30, 12) and (40, 5), and a model conclusion.
Predict then plot
Ask students to sketch the graph they expect before they see the table. Then plot the real points and compare the two shapes.
Fair test talk
Use the picture to ask what stays the same in the test. The plant and the water do not change, and only the lamp distance does.
Check the scale
Look at item 3 early. The counts 12 and 5 fall between gridlines, so some students will plot them on the nearest line of 5.
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