Seymour might have had better luck had he raised one of these Bornean plants instead of a giant Venus flytrap. Instead of evolving to eat animals, they’ve evolved to play nice in exchange for their nutrient rich feces.

Plants make oxygen using photosynthesis, but what happens to the air when those trees drop their leaves in winter?

While you might not think about quantum mechanics being part of your everyday life, it turns out that it might play a role in some of the most familiar things, from the sunlight in the trees to the nose on your face!

It turns out life may have gotten its start pretty early in Earth's history, and while the first couple billion years saw several important developments, the period was still dominated by very simple life forms. This is our first...

Usually when you think of evolution or natural selection, you think of survival of the fittest. But sometimes, the resulting traits of evolution aren’t the most efficient solutions to the problems at hand. With the bar set to “good...

People have been getting tattoos for thousands of years, but we've never quite been sure why the ink sticks around under our skin. A group of researchers now think they might have the answer. Plus, scientists are on the road to making...

Humans have relied on fertilizers to grow their plants for thousands of years. But the production of synthetic fertilizers also requires an immense amount of energy that comes primarily from fossil fuels and therefore contributes to...

Photosynthesis plays a huge role in regulating the earth's CO2. But what happens when the temperature gets high enough that photosynthesis slows down?

Who knew that a rainforest could be literal? Hosted by: Rose Bear Don't Walk (she/her)

You probably don't consider algae to be super aggressive, but 66 million years ago had to turn to murder in order to survive.

Every plant has different needs! So Mister Brown and Squeaks have asked their friend Juniper the Earthworm to teach them more about the things they want to grow in their garden and help them make a seed calendar so they know when to...

Squeaks and Mister Brown are just about ready to start their garden, but first they want to learn all about how the tiny little seeds they'll plant in the ground will grow into vegetables they can eat! And Juniper stops by to explain how...

If we want to better understand the environment and combat climate change, we need to look deep underground, where diverse microscopic fungal networks mingle with tree roots to form symbiotic partnerships, says microbiologist Colin...

In this video Paul Andersen explains how energy is used in chemical processes and everyday life. Students should understand that energy is neither created or destroyed but is converted. Most of the energy is delivered to our planet...

Paul Andersen details the first 7 of 13 labs in the AP Biology Curriculum. The following topics are all covered: Artificial Selection, Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium, Comparing DNA using BLAST, Diffusion and Osmosis, Photosynthesis,...

Paul Andersen introduces the concept of bioenergetics. He explains how living organisms utilize free energy in the Universe. He begins with a brief discussion of thermodynamics and Gibbs free energy. He then explains how reactions can...

Plants make oxygen using photosynthesis, but what happens to the air when those trees drop their leaves in winter?

In this video Paul Andersen shows how increasing ocean temperatures causes coral polyps to release their symbiotic algae. This process of coral bleaching decreases the availability of energy for the coral and may eventually lead to coral...

Photosynthesis plays a huge role in regulating the earth's CO2. But what happens when the temperature gets high enough that photosynthesis slows down?

Paul Andersen explains how to formulate questions to guide discussions and investigations. He starts by describing the proper type of questions that should be asked in an AP Biology classroom. He gives four examples of questions that...

Natural selection can lead to some pretty amazing adaptations, but sometimes the resulting traits aren’t the most efficient solutions to the problems at hand. With the bar set to “good enough,” here are some features that arose from...

In 1986, a prospecting crew in southern Romania was looking for a good place to build a geothermal power plant, when they accidentally discovered one of the oddest caves of all...

Jessi and Squeaks take a look at some pond water under a microscope, and learn all about the living things they can see inside!



Next Generation Science Standar

ds 2-LS2-2

Disciplin
ary Core Idea: LS2.A
“Plants...

Plants! We absolutely depend on them. Oxygen, food, and looking super nice to boot! But, plants have a lot more going on than meets the eye. How do we know that? Investigations and Experimentations!