Photosynthesis Using Uniflex Cubes This activity uses uniflex cubes to help the students to understand how six molecules of carbon dioxide combine with six molecules of water to form simple sugar and oxygen through the process of photosynthesis.

1
Photosynthesis Using Uniflex CubesThis activity
uses uniflex cubes to help the students to
understand how six molecules of carbon dioxide
combine with six molecules of water to form
simple sugar and oxygen through the process of
photosynthesis.
2
Each child should have a copy of this.

• Your bag should have the following
• 6 Green Blocks
• 12 Red Blocks
• 18 Blue Blocks
• Green Blocks Carbon ( C )
• Red Blocks Hydrogen ( H )
• Blue Blocks Oxygen ( O )

• Carbon Dioxide C02
• Water H2O
• Sugar C6H12O6
• Oxygen Molecule O2
• Extra Vocabulary Words
• Photosynthesis
• Molecules
• Chlorophyll
• Energy from the Sun
• Organic Compounds

3
Each child/group needs to make sure that the
proper number of uniflex cubes are in the bag 6
Green, 12 Red and 18 Blue.
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With those 32 blocks the students can make six
molecules of CO2 and six molecules of H2O. The
formation of carbon dioxide is linear, and water
gets described as Mickey Mouse Ears.
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Inside the leaves of green plants, in the
chloroplasts, the molecules of CO2 and H2O and
broken up by the energy of the Sun. The
molecules get re-arranged to form glucose (simple
sugar) and oxygen. ENERGY6CO2 6H2O ?
C6H12O6 6O2
6

• Chlorophyll uses light energy to break-up and
  re-combine CO2 and H2O.
• Six CO2 and six H2O molecules are needed.
• ENERGY
• 6CO2 6H2O ? C6H12O6 6O2

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We can show this with our cubes by making a
block of glucose and six molecules of oxygen
(O2)
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An actual molecule of glucose looks a bit
different than the block we made with the
cubes, but the block idea is good enough for the
5th graders.
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It is important for students to realize that the
formation of the glucose is the start of all food
webs and pyramids. The oxygen produced is kind
of important, too, for life as we know it.
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Make sure it is realized that the mass of a tree
(or any green plant) starts from this process of
photosynthesis fixing CO2 and H2O into glucose.
It is the starting point for the plants
converting it into cellulose which creates all of
the cells and structure of a plant.
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Point out that all living cells (plant and
animal) take sugar and oxygen and get energy
from the combination. This is cellular
respiration.
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CELLULAR RESPIRATION

• Cellular Respiration is kind of like
  Photosynthesis in reverse
• It is what ALL cells do (both animals and plants)
  in order to stay alive.
• The process is extremely complicated.
• Dont worry. About all you need to know now is
  C6H12O6 6O2 ? 6CO2 6H2O ENERGY