LaGreca ScienceUnit 4-PlantsStudy guide reference

UNIT 4-PLANTSPart 1: 6.L.1 – Understand the structures, processes and behaviors of plants that enable them to survive and reproduce.

PART 1a: 6.L.1.1: Structures and Functions of Plants: Summarize the basic structures and functions of flowering plants required for survival, reproduction and defense. Student Friendly Objectives:Students will remember the basic structures of plants including roots, stems, leaves, and flowers. (3rd Grade)Students will identify the structures of flowering plants including the petal, sepal, stamen, and pistil.Students will summarize the basic functions of flowering plants.Students will relate the structures and functions of plants to their survival, reproduction and defense.

Introduction: Animals and plants have a great variety of body plans and internal structures that contribute to their being able to make or find food and reproduce.

INTRODUCTION TO PLANTS

What are plants? Plants are living organisms that cover much of the land of planet Earth. You see them everywhere. They include grass, trees, flowers, bushes, ferns, mosses, and more. Plants are members of the kingdom plantae. What makes a plant a plant? Here are some basic characteristics that make a living organism a plant: -Most plants make their own food through a process called photosynthesis.

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LaGreca ScienceUnit 4-PlantsStudy guide reference

- Plants have a cuticle, meaning they have a waxy layer on their surface that protects them and keeps them from drying out. -They have eukaryotic cells with rigid cell walls. -They reproduce with spores or with sex cells.

Types of Plants There are many different types of plants. They are typically divided into two major groups: vascular and nonvascular.

1. Vascular - These plants have specific tissues that help to move materials such as water through the plant. They are further divided into non-flowering plants and flowering plants. Most of the organisms you probably think of as plants, such as trees, bushes, and flowers, fit into this group.

2. Nonvascular - These are smaller plants, such as mosses, that use diffusion and osmosis to move material through the plant.

Basic Structure of Plants The three basic parts of most vascular plants are the leaf, the stem, and the roots. Leaf - The leaf is an organ of a plant that is specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves capture energy from sunlight as well as collect carbon dioxide from the air. Many leaves are flat and thin in order to catch as much sunlight as possible. However, leaves come in many different shapes including long skinny needles that are found on pine trees.

Stem - The stem is the main structure that supports leaves and flowers. Stems have vascular tissues that move food and water around the plant to help it grow. Plants often store food in their stems.

Roots - The roots of a plant grow underground. Roots help to keep the plant from falling over and gather water and minerals from the soil. Some plants store food in their roots. The two major types of roots are fibrous roots and taproots. Taproots tend to have one major root that grows very deep, while fibrous roots have many roots that grow in all directions.

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Leaves have an epidermis with a waxy cuticle and stomata that help prevent water loss. Guard cells that surround and control the size of the opening in stomata. The loss of water through the stomata is

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LaGreca ScienceUnit 4-PlantsStudy guide reference

called transpiration. The opening and closing of guard cells regulate transpiration.

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LaGreca ScienceUnit 4-PlantsStudy guide reference

PLANT REPRODUCTIONThe process of sexual reproduction in flowering plants takes place in the flower, which is a complex structure made up of several parts. Some parts of the flower are directly involved in fertilization and seed production. Other flower parts have functions in pollination.

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LaGreca ScienceUnit 4-PlantsStudy guide reference

Flowers are made up of 6 parts:

1. Petal- are leaf like, usually colorful structures arranged in a circle around the top of a flower stem

2. sepal- modified leaves that encase the developing flower. They are sterile floral parts and may be either green or leaf like or composed of petal like tissue.

3. stamen-male reproductive organ, located inside the circle of petals

4. anther- produces pollen that contains sperm.

5. pistil-At the center of the flower, attached to the top of the flower stem lie one or more pistils. The pistil is the female structure of the flower. The bottom portion of the pistil enlarges to form the ovary

6. ovary-a structure with one or more ovules, each containing one egg. When fertilization occurs the ovary grows into the fruit or vegetable.

When fertilization occurs the ovary grows into the fruit or vegetable.

The length of night or dark period controls flowering.

Pollination

The male parts of a plant, called stamens, make pollen grains. These grains contain sperm cells. The female parts of a plant, called pistils, contain egg cells.

During pollination, pollen grains travel from the male parts to the female parts. There, a sperm cell from the pollen joins with an egg cell. This is called fertilization. The fertilized cell then develops into a seed.

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LaGreca ScienceUnit 4-PlantsStudy guide reference

Self-pollination

Some plants have only male or only female parts. They need help transporting pollen between plants. This is called cross-pollination. Other plants have both male and female parts. They can pollinate themselves. This is called self-pollination.

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LaGreca ScienceUnit 4-PlantsStudy guide reference

Part 1b: 6.L.1.2: Processes of Plants: Explain the significance of the processes of photosynthesis,respiration, and transpiration to the survival of green plants and other organisms.

Student Friendly Objectives:Students will recall the interconnected relationship of plants and animals in ecosystems. Students will define the processes of plants including photosynthesis, respiration and transpiration.Students will identify the requirements and products of photosynthesis and respiration.Students will connect the processes of plants to cycles of matter in ecosystems.Students will summarize the significance of photosynthesis, respiration, and transpiration to the survival of plants and other organisms.

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LaGreca ScienceUnit 4-PlantsStudy guide reference

Three things plants need to live Plants need three basic things to live: water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide. Plants breathe carbon dioxide just like we breathe oxygen. When plants breathe carbon dioxide in, they breathe out oxygen. Plants are the major source of oxygen on planet Earth and help keep us alive.

We know now that plants use sunlight as energy, they get water from rain, and they get carbon dioxide from breathing. The process of taking these three key ingredients and making them into food is called photosynthesis.

What is photosynthesis? Have you ever noticed that plants need sunlight to live? It seems sort of strange doesn't it? How can sunlight be a type of food? Well, sunlight is energy and photosynthesis is the process plants use to take the energy from sunlight and use it to convert carbon dioxide and water into food.

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LaGreca ScienceUnit 4-PlantsStudy guide reference

How do plants capture sunlight? Plants capture sunlight using a compound called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is green, which is why so many plants appear green. You might think at first that it's green because it wants to absorb and use green light. However, from our study of light, we know that the color we see is actually the color of light that is reflected. So chlorophyll actually reflects green light and absorbs blue and red light.

More details on Photosynthesis

Inside a plant's cells are structures called chloroplasts. It's in these structures where the chlorophyll resides.

There are two main phases to the process of photosynthesis. In the first phase, sunlight is captured by the chloroplasts and the energy is stored in a chemical called ATP. In the second phase, the ATP is used to create sugar and organic compounds. These are the foods plants use to live and grow.

The first phase of the process must have sunlight, but the second phase can happen without sunlight and even at night. The second phase is called the Calvin Cycle because it was discovered and described by scientist Melvin Calvin.

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LaGreca ScienceUnit 4-PlantsStudy guide reference

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LaGreca ScienceUnit 4-PlantsStudy guide reference

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LaGreca ScienceUnit 4-PlantsStudy guide reference

Even though plants need sunlight and water to live, different plants need different amounts of each. Some plants need just a little water while others need a lot. Some plants like to be in the direct sunlight all day, while others prefer the shade. Learning about the needs of plants can help you learn where to plant them in your yard and how best to water them so they will flourish.

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LaGreca ScienceUnit 4-PlantsStudy guide reference

THE LEAF STRUCTURE REVISITED AND ITS ROLE IN PHOTOSYNTHESIS

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CELLULAR RESPIRATION-THE SECOND PIECE OF THE PUZZLE

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LaGreca ScienceUnit 4-PlantsStudy guide reference

Part 2: 6.L.2 – Understand the flow of energy through ecosystems and the responses of populations to the biotic and abiotic factors in their environment6.L.2.2: Plant Responses: Explain how plants respond to external stimuli (including dormancyand forms of tropism) to enhance survival in an environment.

Student Friendly Objectives:Students will remember that environmental conditions determine how well plants survive and grow. (3rd Grade)Students will define dormancy in plants.Students will classify positive and negative tropisms.Students will analyze how plants react to environmental factors to help them survive.

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Changes in environmental conditions can affect the survival of individual organisms and entire species. Plants have mechanisms that enable them to respond to their environment. Plants grow, reproduce, and shift the position of their roots, stems and leaves in response to environmental conditions such as gravity, sunlight, temperature and day length.

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LaGreca ScienceUnit 4-PlantsStudy guide reference

Tropisms are described as the movement of a plant that can be caused by a change in growth that can be either positive or negative.

Tropism is a plant’s turning or bending movement of an organism toward or away from an external stimulus such as light, heat or gravity.

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LaGreca ScienceUnit 4-PlantsStudy guide reference

If the tropism is positive, the plant grows toward the stimulus.

If the tropism is negative, the plant grows away from the stimulus. This enhances the survival rate for that plant in a given environment.

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LaGreca ScienceUnit 4-PlantsStudy guide reference

There are 5 main tropisms: phototropism, gravitropism, hydrotropism, thermotropism, and thigmotropism.

Dormancy- A period of inactivity in a seed prior to germination; seed remains dormant until conditions are good for growth and development of the new plant .

Phototropism-the growth of a plant in response to light

Gravitropism-the growth of a plant in response to gravity.

Hydrotropism-the growth of a plant in response to water

Thermotropism-the growth of a plant in response to a source of heat

Thigmotropism-the growth of a plant in response to touch

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LaGreca ScienceUnit 4-PlantsStudy guide reference

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LaGreca ScienceUnit 4-PlantsStudy guide reference

UNIT 4 VOCAB WORDS6.L.1.1-Structure and Function of Plants

Flower- a complex structure made up of several parts. Some parts of the flower are directly involved in fertilization and seed production. Other flower parts have functions in pollination.

Flower are made up of 6 parts:

1. Petal- are leaf like, usually colorful structures arranged in a circle around the top of a flower stem

2. sepal- modified leaves that encase the developing flower. They are sterile floral parts and may be either green or leaf like or composed of petal like tissue.

3. stamen-male reproductive organ, located inside the circle of petals

4. anther- produces pollen that contains sperm.

5. pistil-At the center of the flower, attached to the top of the flower stem lie one or more pistils. The pistil is the female structure of the flower. The bottom portion of the pistil enlarges to form the ovary

6. ovary-a structure with one or more ovules, each containing one egg. When fertilization occurs the ovary grows into the fruit or vegetable.

ovule-reproductive female organ where egg is produced

Egg- a female reproductive cell of animals and plants that can unite with a sperm cell to form a new individual cell

Sperm- a male reproductive cell of animals and plants that can unite with an egg cell to form a new individual cell

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LaGreca ScienceUnit 4-PlantsStudy guide reference

Pollen- the substance that causes plants to form seeds. New plants then can grow from the seeds. Both flowering plants and conifers (plants that grow seeds inside cones) make pollen. A grain of pollen is so tiny that it is best viewed through a microscope.

6.L.1.2-Processes of Plants

Photosynthesis- is the process during which a plant’s chlorophyll traps light energy and sugars called glucose are produced. In plants, photosynthesis occurs only in cells with chloroplasts. Respiration-a series of chemical reactions that break down food molecules and release energy

Transpiration- The loss of water through the stomata is called transpiration. The opening and closing of guard cells regulate transpiration.

Glucose-sugars that are used for energy. In plants, the process of photosynthesis convert light energy into glucose.

carbon dioxide-one of the raw materials for photosynthesis. An organic molecule that consists of carbon and oxygen, chemical formula is CO2. In photosynthesis, when it combines with water and light energy (in the presence of chlorophyll), sugar and oxygen are produced.

oxygen- one of the raw materials for photosynthesis. An element in the periodic table. In photosynthesis, it is released with glucose and is used in cellular respiration.

chlorophyll-a green pigment that is found in an organelle in plant cells called chloroplasts. This green pigment is necessary for photosynthesis

epidermis- This is the outer layer of cells covering the leaf. It is usually transparent and is waxy to prevent water loss.

Cuticle-waxy layer on surface of plant that protects them and keeps them from drying out

stomata- openings that act as doorways for raw materials such as carbondioxide, water vapor, and waste gases to enter and exit the leaf.More than 90 percent of the water plants take in through their roots is lost

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LaGreca ScienceUnit 4-PlantsStudy guide reference

through the stomata. Two cells called guard cells surround each stoma and controlits size. As water moves into the guard cells, they swell and bend apart, opening a stoma. When guard cells lose water, they deflate and close the stoma. Stomata usually are open during the day, when most plants need to take in raw materials to make food. They usually are closed at night when food making slows down. Stomata also close when a plant is losing too much water.

6.L.2.2-Plant responses

Tropism-a movement that can be caused by a change in growth that can be either positive or negative

Dormancy- A period of inactivity in a seed prior to germination; seed remains dormant until conditions are good for growth and development of the new plant .

Phototropism-the growth of a plant in response to light

Gravitropism-the growth of a plant in response to gravity.

Hydrotropism-the growth of a plant in response to water

Thermotropism-the growth of a plant in response to a source of heat

Thigmotropism-the growth of a plant in response to touch

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