Student answers - Photosynthesis Exam Short Answers
The data below represent student responses to the short answer question: "Explain why our world could not exist without photosynthesis, using 3 different examples." While students had four free response questions from which to choose (see exam questions), approximately half of the students chose to answer this particular question. Nearly every student who responded to this question referenced the role photosynthesis plays as a carbon sink for excess atmospheric CO2 (one of the key learning objectives of the collaborative carbon footprint activity); one student in particular even used the term "carbon footprint" in her answer. However, as noted in the discussion of the collaborative carbon footprint activity, students provided only partially correct, incomplete explanations in their answers.
Student #1:
Student #2:
Student #3:
Student #4: