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- Title
Wood made from water? An introduction to photosynthesis based on a historical error.
- Authors
Wrigley, Colin
- Abstract
Three and a half centuries ago, a five-year experiment was conducted involving the growth of a willow tree in a pot which received only water. The conclusion, that a tree is therefore made solely from water, was not so ridiculous when there was still general acceptance of the Aristotelian view of only four 'elements': water, earth, fire and air. The error of the conclusion leads students straight into a discussion of carbon dioxide as the real basis of the tree's growth via photosynthesis and consideration of the carbon cycle.
- Subjects
WILLOWS; PLANT-water relationships; TREES; PHOTOSYNTHESIS; PLANT growth; CARBON
- Publication
Teaching Science: The Journal of the Australian Science Teachers Association, 2012, Vol 58, Issue 3, p53
- ISSN
1449-6313
- Publication type
Article