Educator Guide: Plastic Pavement and Oxidation in Biology

About this guide

Pair these lesson plans with articles from the October issue of Science News Explores to have students learn how researchers in Hawaii are recycling plastic trash to pave roads and give students multiple examples of oxidation and reduction, including in photosynthesis and cellular respiration.

This Guide Includes:

A practical use for plastic trash

Researchers and engineers in Hawaii are putting plastic waste to practical use — in pavement. Discuss the unique concerns plastic poses to our environment while answering questions about how experimental-design choices in the lab can lead to large-scale environmental processes and a more sustainable future.

How gold stays shiny

Students will compare physical and chemical changes and learn about oxidation and why gold does not readily oxidize. Then, students will explore how oxidation is instrumental to two of the most important biological processes, photosynthesis and respiration.