Biology  by Bradford
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Free · Biology · Unit 3

Photosynthesis and respiration escape room

Lockdown in the Biodome

Night has fallen over the desert, and a power cut has sealed your team inside a glass biodome where scientists grow food for a future Mars base. The grow lamps are dark, every door is locked, and the dome's computer will open them only for people who understand how living things capture and release energy. In the dark, nothing here can photosynthesize, and the CO₂ level in the air is slowly climbing. Five locks stand between you and the outside air. Each lock poses four questions, and your answers decode into its combination. Crack all five before the air grows too stale to think in.

Play it onlineTeacher pack (PDF)
  • 5 locksfour multiple-choice questions at each, 20 in all
  • About 45 minutesfor a team of three or four
  • Online or on papera link to play, or the pack to print
  • Forgrade 9 and 10 biology and pre-AP classes
  • Play linkbiologybybradford.com/escape/gb3

The five locks

Each lock’s four answers are decoded with its puzzle into a four-digit combination, so one wrong answer keeps it shut. The questions climb from recall to evaluating evidence.
  1. Lock 1 · Recall

    Airlock Door

    Light panel Easy

    Add up the numbers above the shaded squares.

  2. Lock 2 · Understand

    Seedling Nursery

    Symbol sums Easy

    One symbol's value is given. Use it to unlock the others, then swap your letters for symbols.

  3. Lock 3 · Apply

    Fish Pond Gate

    Lock dials Medium

    The dials have no numbers. 0 is the pink notch at the top; count ticks clockwise to the needle.

  4. Lock 4 · Analyse data

    Algae Tank Hatch

    Overlay Medium

    Only segments lit on BOTH panels count. Read the number they make.

  5. Lock 5 · Evaluate

    Outer Dome Vent

    Number pyramid Hard

    Each brick is the sum of the two below it. The clues are high up the pyramid, so work down carefully.

Lock 1, as a team sees it

The first four questions and their decoder. The answers, and the reason for each, are in the teacher pack.

  1. How many phosphate groups does one molecule of ATP carry?

    1. A One
    2. B Two
    3. C Three
    4. D Four

  2. What is the name of the green pigment in chloroplasts that absorbs light?

    1. A Chlorophyll
    2. B Hemoglobin
    3. C Carotene
    4. D Melanin

  3. Which gas do both plants and animals take in for aerobic respiration?

    1. A Carbon dioxide
    2. B Oxygen
    3. C Nitrogen
    4. D Water vapor

  4. Which of these organisms is an autotroph?

    1. A Mushroom
    2. B Rabbit
    3. C Earthworm
    4. D Grass

Light panel

Easy

Add up the numbers above the shaded squares.

A
8421
B
8421
C
8421
D
8421

Running it

  1. Online: send teams the play link. They answer a lock’s four questions, decode the letters and enter the combination; after lock 5 they get a completion code to show you. Nobody needs an account.
  2. On paper: sign in (free) and print the teacher pack: question cards, the five decoders, a guide and the answer key with a reason for every answer.
  3. Your version: Edit a copy from the library to change any question, then play and print it by its own code, or build a room from the topics your class has covered.

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