Fall Colors, Temperature, and Day Length

by: Stephen Burton, Heather Miller, and Carrie Roossinck

Along with the bright hues of orange, red, and yellow, the season of fall represents significant changes, such as day length and temperature. These changes provide excellent opportunities for students to use science process skills to examine how abiotic factors such as weather and temperature impact organisms. The activity described in this article uses available internet data to encourage students to explore the relationship between seasonal patterns and climate (plant phenology) as well as day-length data. In particular, students develop and test hypotheses to explain latitudinal differences in leaf-color change.

Details

Type Journal ArticlePub Date 9/1/2007Stock # tst07_074_06_31Volume 074Issue 06

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