Energy in Cells
Follow energy through chloroplasts and mitochondria.
Energy in Cells covers the biology topic that students often find the hardest to keep straight: photosynthesis and cellular respiration. The game starts with the molecules drawn as cards and asks which process an equation shows, what the reactants and products are and how energy flows from sunlight to the cell.
Students then balance equations from the drawn atoms, tap the parts of a plant cell, a chloroplast and a mitochondrion, and follow the stages: the light reactions and the Calvin cycle, then glycolysis, the Krebs cycle and the electron transport chain. The final levels add ATP, fermentation and a described experiment about light, carbon dioxide and temperature.
What children practice
- Tell photosynthesis from cellular respiration by reactants and products
- Count atoms and balance the two equations
- Match each stage to where it happens in the cell
- Name what the light reactions and the Calvin cycle take in and make
- Place glycolysis, the Krebs cycle and the electron transport chain in order
- Compare aerobic respiration with lactic acid and alcoholic fermentation and read a simple experiment
Levels
- Big picture: Molecules and processes
- Equations: Reactants, products, balancing
- Where it happens: Chloroplast and mitochondrion
- Photosynthesis: Light reactions, Calvin cycle
- Respiration: Glycolysis, Krebs, ETC
- ATP and fermentation: ATP, aerobic or not
- Cycle and experiments: Reading an experiment
- Course mix: Everything
How it works
- Eight levels run from the big picture to experiments, and the last level mixes every kind of round.
- Each molecule and equation is built from drawn atoms, and every count in a question is taken from the picture it belongs to.
- Five correct answers plus the practice timer let your child move up a level.
- Students choose answers, tap parts of a cell, sort and order stages, fill in a table or set the coefficients of an equation.
Best for: A good fit for grades 9 to 11 in a biology course, especially when students mix up the two processes or lose track of where each stage happens.
Tip for parents: Ask your child to explain how a breath of air and a leaf are connected. Following a carbon dioxide molecule through both processes is a good test of understanding.
Questions parents ask
Does the game ask students to memorize ATP totals?
Only as a textbook recall item, about 36 to 38 ATP per glucose. Contested exact counts are not asked, and the stages are taught by place, inputs and outputs.
Does it cover fermentation?
Yes. Level 6 compares aerobic and anaerobic pathways and covers lactic acid and alcoholic fermentation along with their equations.
What kinds of experiments appear?
Level 7 describes a setup with light, carbon dioxide or temperature and asks how the rate of photosynthesis should change. It also shows the energy loop between chloroplast and mitochondrion.
Ready to try it?
Energy in Cells is free with a parent account. A parent adds a child profile, and the child's progress is saved.