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POTATOES GALORE:Please Tell Me More!!!!

Plants, Food, and Cooking

By:

Carmin Gregory

Shana Harness

Shelley Mullane

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Biology of a Potato

A tuber or underground stem with stored food.

Potatoes are a perennial plant when growing in the wild and annuals when cultivated.

Cultivated potatoes have 48 chromosomes. Wild Potatoes have 24 chromosomes.

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Parts of a Potato

Eyebrow – is a leaf scar on the potato and faces the apical end.

Eye – eyes on a potato ate the growing points for new plants.

Stem (basal) end – the stem end is the attachment point between the tuber and the plant.

Lenticle – lenticles are tiny openings that allow moisture into the tuber.

Flower – The flower is perfect and contains both male and female parts. The flower has 5 petals and can be white, purple, lilac, or violet depending on variety.

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Have students draw what they think a potato plant looks like.

Have students name the parts of a potato.

This is a good way of introducing the potato plant and parts of a potato.

This activity also makes you aware of the students knowledge of the subject.

Students could each grow a plant with a potato in water to see the plant and its parts.

Activity 1KWL

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Activity 2Potato Soup

The students would be able to learn measuring and the process involved in making potato soup.

Students would be able to try a product they have made from the plant they would be studying.

They may be tasting a new food This could also allow for discussion

of all the varieties of potatoes.

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Activity 3Spineless Potatoes This allows students to see how

potatoes change in different solutions.

Allows students to see how the texture and form of potatoes change when introduced to other elements.

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Activity 3Checking for Starch

What happens when iodine is placed on a potato and comes in contact with starch?

Iodine changes color to blue or black.

Have students explain how this could be important or how they could check different parts for starch.

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Activity 5 Potato Prints Give students ½ of a potato and

allow them to create a design in the middle by cutting a shape out of the fleshy part of the potato.

They can then paint around the design and use the potato as a stamp.

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Activity 6Potato Clock

Clocks can be purchased that operate off of potatoes or you can make your own.

By sticking copper and zinc electrodes into the potato and hook up to the clock.

Kids will enjoy the electrolyte power of the potatoes.

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Potato Activity SheetPrepare booklets in advance with ½ sheet size paper

and stapled together. Students may put their potato stamp on the pages to design and decorate their book

1.Title Page Spud Stuff by _________2. Draw a picture of your spud. Give your spud a

name.3. Measure your spud. My spud is ______ inches long. My spud is ______ inches wide.4. Draw a cute potato on this page My spud has _________ eyes/ _______’s spud has the most number of eyes. _______’s spud has the least number of eyes. My spud weighs _________. ________’s spud weighs the most. ________’s spud weighs the least.5. Draw a Scale How many squares will your spud cover. __________ my guess. __________my count.6. Draw a graph

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Activity Sheet Continued:

1. My spud weighs _________.2. ________’s spud weighs the most.3. ________’s spud weighs the least.4. 5. Draw a Scale5. How many squares will your spud cover. 6. __________ my guess.7. __________my count.8. 6. Draw a graph