Over two weeks, Year 8 run one long experiment together in the first fifteen minutes of six science lessons. The technician seals a potted pelargonium in a clear plastic propagator with the department's data-logging carbon dioxide sensor and a micro:bit that logs the light level inside the box every five minutes, with an LED lamp on a stand outside, and before each lesson the readings are exported to a shared Google Sheet that charts them. Students read the curves since the last lesson, including the nights and the weekend, then choose the next condition from lamp distance, a green filter over the box, darkness or half the leaves covered in foil, and write a prediction of the curve's shape before the teacher sets it up and opens the lid to refresh the air. By the end they have seen carbon dioxide fall in light and climb in the dark, level off when the lamp is far away and fall more slowly behind the green filter, and each student writes a conclusion about light and photosynthesis from the class's own chain of tests.
Tools: micro:bit, Google Sheets Nine ideas for your own version in Generate
This page is one of a growing set of PICRAT examples by cell, subject and grade. Page maintained by Andy Perryer.