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Learn about different aspects of what it takes to get food onto your table—from soil, to fertilizer, to the crops we grow.
Sections
Activities
- Chemists Celebrate Earth Week 2023 The Curious Chemistry of Algae from ACS
Find educational resources for the 2023 Chemists Celebrate Earth Week theme and other materials for your event, including outreach activities, activities, articles, and videos.
- Landmark Lesson Plan: Isolation of Phytochrome from AACT
Some scientists thought this plant compound was a “pigment of the imagination,” but other researchers continued their search.
- Landmark Lesson Plan: Silent Spring from AACT
In this activity, students will read an article to learn about the impact Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring has had.
- Agricultural Topics for Science Fair Projects from the Florida Department of Education
Looking for agricultural answers? You won’t find them here—just questions. Pick one and kick off an investigation.
Demos
- Earth: The Apple of Our Eye from Scholarworks
The Earth shrinks to the size of an ordinary apple in this demo of how much farmable soil we have.
Labs
- One in a Million from LearnAboutAg.org
This lesson plan is one in a million. Parts per million that is. Find out about fertilizer concentration with food coloring.
- Porosity and Permeability Lab from George West Independent School District
Go with the flow. Explore how fast water travels through various soil materials.
- Ag-Bites: Link 'Ems from Ab-Bites
Link ‘em up. Can you match these ag raw materials with products made from their compounds?
Articles
- Edible Insects from Scientific American
What’s for dinner? Meat takes a backseat in this meal when edible insects are on the menu.
- Teen Develops Water-Saving Pods for Seeds from Science News Explores
Farmers will thank this high schooler for her water-saving, seed-boosting invention
- Food Science Lab from Civil Eats
It’s urban agriculture, with students in control. The tasty results get served up in the cafeteria.
- What Does 200 Calories Look Like? from Wisegeek
Take a look at different foods. Does 200 Calories fill up the plate?
Videos
- What If Humans Could Photosynthesize? from ACS Reactions
This Reactions video takes a look at the chemistry required for a human to photosynthesize. Ohh the sunny science!
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Vertical Farming from ACS Reactions
This Reaction video is checking out the chemistry that makes vertical farms possible. There's a lot of science that goes on behind this agricultural trend.
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Cow Burps are Warming the Planet from ACS Reactions
Cows burp up a lot of methane thanks to the chemistry of their digestion. And since methane is a greenhouse gas, our beef and dairy have huge climate change consequences.