4.8
stars
1,060 ratings

Professor Daniel Chamovitz, Ph.D.

39,037 already enrolled

Offered By

Understanding Plants - Part II: Fundamentals of Plant Biology

Tel Aviv University

About this Course

12,359 recent views

This class is aimed at people interested in understanding the basic science of plant biology. In this four lecture series, we'll first learn about the structure-function of plants and of plant cells. Then we'll try to understand how plants grow and develop, making such complex structures as flowers. Once we know how plants grow and develop, we'll then delve into understanding photosynthesis - how plants take carbon dioxide from the air and water from soil, and turn this into oxygen for us to breathe
and sugars for us to eat.  In the last lecture we'll learn about the fascinating, important and controversial science behind genetic engineering in agriculture.

If you haven't taken it already, you may also be interested in my other course - What A Plant Knows, which examines how plants see, smell, hear and feel their environment: https://www.coursera.org/learn/plantknows.

In order to receive academic credit for this course you must successfully pass the academic exam on campus. For information on how to register for the academic exam – https://tauonline.tau.ac.il/registration

Additionally, you can apply to certain degrees using the grades you received on the courses. Read more on this here – 
https://go.tau.ac.il/b.a/mooc-acceptance

Teachers interested in teaching this course in their class rooms are invited to explore our Academic High school program here – https://tauonline.tau.ac.il/online-highschool

Flexible deadlines

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Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

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Intermediate Level

Approx. 6 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: Arabic, French, Portuguese (European), Italian, Catalan, Portuguese (Brazilian), Vietnamese, German, Russian, English, Hebrew, Spanish, Romanian

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Skills you will gain

Plant Biology
Biology
Genetics
Plant

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Intermediate Level

Approx. 6 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: Arabic, French, Portuguese (European), Italian, Catalan, Portuguese (Brazilian), Vietnamese, German, Russian, English, Hebrew, Spanish, Romanian

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Instructor

Instructor rating

4.88/5 (237 Ratings)

Professor Daniel Chamovitz, Ph.D.

President, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

107,774 Learners

2 Courses

Offered by

Tel Aviv University

Tel Aviv University (TAU) is Israel's largest institution of higher learning – with over 30,000 students and more than 125 schools and departments in nine faculties. Global in outlook and impact, it is consistently ranked among the world's top 100 universities, as well as the top 20 institutions in terms of scientific citations. A spirit of openness and innovation is evident in all of TAU's teaching and research activities, breaking down barriers between disciplines, and boldly striving to address the twenty-first century's most pressing challenges.

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Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating97%(3,381 ratings)

Week

Week 1

2 hours to complete

Course Introduction and Plant Cell Structure

2 hours to complete

10 videos (Total 49 min), 3 readings, 1 quiz

10 videos

Course Promo1m

1.1 All plants are made of cells4m

1.2 Different types of microscopy are used to study cells6m

1.3 Characteristics of plant cells5m

1.4 Plastids2m

1.5 The origin of chloroplasts2m

1.6 The cell wall3m

1.7 The vacuole and plasmodesmata6m

1.8 Vascular tissue - xylem6m

1.9 Vascular tissue – phloem9m

3 readings

Before we begin10m

How to succeed in this course? PDF version5m

Whole-Plant Structure

1 hour to complete

6 videos (Total 38 min), 1 reading, 1 quiz

Week

Week 3

1 hour to complete

Photosynthesis

1 hour to complete

8 videos (Total 31 min), 1 reading, 1 quiz

8 videos

3.1 Chloroplast structure1m

3.2 Chemical currency: ATP and NADPH4m

3.3 Light and Photosynthesis3m

3.4 The light-dependent reactions and electron transfer2m

3.5 The Light-dependent Reactions and ATP2m

3.6 Phototsynthesis 2: The dark reactions and sugar synthesis3m

3.7 Discussion with Prof. Nir Ohad: The Carbon Cycle7m

3.8 Inside a photosynthesis lab6m

1 reading

Plant genetic engineering

1 hour to complete

9 videos (Total 47 min), 1 reading, 1 quiz

9 videos

4.1 Introduction4m

4.2 Cultivated foods and genetic changes5m

4.3 Conventional breeding and genetic engineering methods3m

4.4 Recombinant DNA technology8m

4.5 Transgenic plants - proof of concept5m

4.6 Case study: Genetic engineering in combating viruses in agriculture4m

4.7 Examples of genetic engineering: Nutritional benefits3m

4.8 Potential of genetic engineering: I Insect resistant plants3m

4.9 Concerns about the use of genetic engineering in agriculture6m

1 reading

Reviews

4.8

265 reviews

5 stars
83.98%
4 stars
14.23%
3 stars
1.31%
1 star
0.46%

TOP REVIEWS FROM UNDERSTANDING PLANTS - PART II: FUNDAMENTALS OF PLANT BIOLOGY

by DDJul 20, 2022

Course was incredibly excellent.i understood basic concepts of plants clearly.thank to all the tutors and the tutorial you have provided.such an enrichinh experience.

by CFJan 9, 2017

An interesting and informative course. A little challenging at times for those of us without a background in biology, but well presented and carefully explained. A very positive experience.

by XPJun 6, 2021

The instructor is such a good storyteller. He conveys the knowledge effectively in a pleasant and humorous manner. I would fully recommend taking it even for leisure learning.

by JNSep 4, 2017

Great introductionary course for basics of Plants Biology. The other Course course from Dean Chamovitz - "What a Plant Knows" is much more interesting, is has 70% of the same knowledge.

View all reviews

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Understanding Plants - Part II: Fundamentals of Plant Biology

Understanding Plants - Part II: Fundamentals of Plant Biology

About this Course

Skills you will gain