Classroom resources spotlight: Tree Biomass

In Lesson 1 of the new Tree Biomass sequence, students are introduced to the Biltmore stick, an instrument used in the forestry industry to measure the height and diameter of a tree. Use of the Biltmore stick is illustrated with authentic archival photographs from the 1930s and 1950s. Students use similar triangles and algebra to work out how to mark the stick. 

In Lesson 2 students measure some trees, solve a Fermi problem and look at the environmental implications of the school’s paper use.

The sequence builds on the Year 8 sequences Circumference and Area of a Circle.