Plant Physiology

Cycle	Date	Topics & Key Questions (For most topics, online notes and quizzes are available)
I	Jan 13 (T)	Introduction to Plant Physiology *(What is a plant?* *What is plant physiology? Why should we study plant physiology?)* (on line notes; study guide; quiz - Moodle; Botany Without Borders - K Niklas/BSA film)
	15 (Th)	The plant way of life (How has the plant lifestyle been evolutionarily-shaped by their phylogeny?) (on line notes; foraging case study; study guide; Concepts Maps; quiz; essay questions)
	19 (M)	Are plants smarter than you think? *(Well?)* (Readings in Moodle)
II	21 (W)	Seed germination *(How do seeds germinate?)* (online notes; study guide)
	24 (F)	Plant cells: structure & function *(How do plant cells function?)* (on line notes, study guide)
	27 (T)	Plastids, vacuoles & cell walls *(Why do plant cells have plastids, vacuoles and cell walls? What is the function/structure of these special structures?)*
III	29 (Th)	Cell wall & cell growth *(How can walls be rigid and strong, yet still permit growth?)* (PowerPoint in Moodle, online notes; quiz; Acid growth exercise)
	Feb2 (M)	Water relations - diffusion, osmosis, water potential (What determines the direction and rate of water movement in plants?) (online notes; quiz - water properties; quiz- water potential)
	4 (W)	EXAM #1: Intro to cells
IV	6 (F)	Water balance - soil water and water uptake; Water distribution in containers (How do plants obtain water from the soil?) (online notes; quiz - water/soil; Spuds McSaupe Plays with Sponges)
	10 (T)	Water transport (How is water transported from the roots to the leaves?) (online notes; quiz-water transport; Spuds McSaupe & Capillary Tubes)
	12 (Th)	Gas exchange and stomatal mechanics (How do plants solve the transpiration / photosynthesis paradox?) (online notes; quiz-gas exchange; GC mechanics diagram - jpg file, right click to save)
V	16 (M)	Phloem transport *(How do plants transport nutrients from the site of production to the site of need?)* (on line notes; phloem case studies; quiz-phloem)
	18 (W)	Mineral nutrition *(What minerals are required for plant growth & development?);*
	20 (F)	Nitrogen metabolism & solute transport; nitrogen fertilizers (How do plants obtain and utilize nitrogen?)
VI	24 (T)	Autrotrophic metabolism - pigments & plastids (Why are plants green?) (online notes; quiz #1)
	26 (Th)	EXAM #2: Water - nitrogen
	27-8	Spring Break
	Mar 9 (M)	Autotrophic metabolism - light reactions *(How do plants capture light?)*
VII	11 (W)	Autotrophic metabolism - carbon metabolism *(How do plants use carbon dioxide to make carbohydrates?)* (online notes; quiz #2)
	13 (F)	Autotrophic metabolism - ecological considerations (How have plants adapted photosynthetically to hot, dry, sunny conditions?)
	17 (T)	Heterotrophic metabolism *(How do plants make ATP?)*
VIII
	19 (Th)	Growth & Development, Hormones (How do plants grow and develop, especially considering the restrictions placed on them by cell walls?) (online notes; case study)
	23 (M)	Auxins *(What do auxins do?)* (PowerPoint in Moodle)
	25(W)	Gibberellins (What do gibberellins do?) (PowerPoint in Moodle)
IX	27 (F)	Cytokinins (What do cytokinins do?) (PowerPoint in Moodle)
	31(T)	Ethylene (What does ethylene do?) (PowerPoint in Moodle)
	Apr 2 (Th)	Abscisic acid & brassinosteroids & other hormones (What do these hormones do?)* (PowerPoints in* Moodle)
X	6 (M)	Phytochrome (How do plants monitor changes in day length and light quality?) (online notes)
	8 (W)	EXAM #3: Heterotrophic - other hormones
	9-13	Easter Recess
	15 (W)	Positioning Responses - gravitropism (Why do plants bend when placed on their side?) (online notes)
XI	17 (F)	Phototropism and other positioning responses (Why do plants bend toward the light?)
	21 (T)	Flowering (How do plants control the timing of flowering?) (online notes)
	22 (W)	Scholarship Day - public premiere of seed germinaion movies
	24 (F)	More flowering
XII	28 (T)	Fruit development & embryogenesis (How do fruits develop?)
	30 (Th)	Senescence & dormancy (Why do plants leaves turn colors in the autumn and then fall off?)
	May 4 (M)	Spring Wildflowers; Course overview & summary *(What unique physiological adaptations have spring flowering plants evolved?)* (online notes; essay in Moodle)
	5 (T)	Study Day
	7 (Th)	Final Exam: Phytochrome to wildflowers; 8-10:00 AM

Tentative Lab Syllabus (back to Lecture syllabus)

Cycle	Lab Topic (lab materials available in Moodle)	Assignment Due
1	Creating Time Lapse Videos: Awn movement in Stipa; Image analysis using ImageJ	Signed Safety Contract Complete the pre-lab assignment
2	Video documentation of seed germination and early seedling growth; Using Windows MovieMaker	Awn movie post-lab
3	Seed germination (con't)
4	Water potential of potato tubers Plant - Broad beans for stomata lab; sunflowers for mineral nutrition experiment	Potato pre-lab
5	Pigment composition in Rapid-cycling Brassica rapa (setup experiment) Mineral Nutrition in sunflowers (setup experiment) Plant - Arabidopsis	Potato post-lab
6	Mechanism of raphide discharge in Dieffenbachia	Idioblast Pre-lab Seed germination movie completed; enter ChloroFilms Movie Contest by 1 March (before Spring Break)
7	Stomatal morphology and physiology of Vicia faba	Idioblast Post-lab Stomata Pre-lab
8	Measuring Photosynthesis Using the Qubit system	Stomata post-lab Qubit Pre-lab
9	Physiology of maple sap flow (field trip, dress appropriately) Plant - RCBr for analysis	Qubit post-lab
10	Pigment Composition Analysis in RCBr	Maple Post-Lab Pigment Pre-lab
11	Scholarship Day presentation	RCBr Post-Lab Mineral Nutrition Post-Lab
12	Ecophysiology (model building science): Are leaves good predictors of climate?	Climate Pre-lab; Climate post-lab due at the end of lab

(back to Lecture syllabus)