soil
what does soil do?
acts as a living filter for water, cycles essential nutrients, and provides the physical structure for plants to grow.
This tough outer layer protects the delicate embryo inside a seed from damage and drying out.
What is the seed coat? (Accept: testa
These often bright, colorful parts of a flower attract bees and butterflies for pollination.
What are petals?
This shining, metallic nickname was given to California due to its famous 1849 Gold Rush.
What is the Golden State?
This buzzy, black-and-yellow insect flies from bloom to bloom to collect nectar and make honey.
What is a bee? (Accept: honeybee)
This dark, nutrient-rich upper layer of soil contains the organic material essential for plant growth.
What is topsoil?
This is the scientific term for the process where a seed absorbs water and wakes up to begin growing.
What is germination?
Flowers produce this sweet, sugary liquid to reward insects and birds that visit them.
What is nectar?
While Los Angeles is the largest city, this inland city serves as California's official state capital.
What is Sacramento?
This bushy-tailed rodent collects acorns from oak trees and buries them, accidentally planting new trees.
What is a squirrel?
Soil texture depends on the unique blend of sand, silt, and this ultra-fine, sticky particle type.
What is clay?
his tissue inside a seed acts as a temporary pantry, storing food for the young plant until it can make its own.
What is the endosperm? (Accept: cotyledon)
This fine, sticky yellow powder must move from flower to flower for seeds to form.
What is pollen?
Hugging the foggy northern coast of the state, these massive organisms are the tallest living trees on Earth.
What are coast redwoods?
This slow, crawling insect eats green leaves constantly before changing into a beautiful butterfly.
What is a caterpillar?
Soil serves as one of these natural storage zones, trapping more total carbon than the atmosphere and all plant life combined.
What is a carbon sink?
Dandelions and maple trees rely on this specific element of nature to disperse their seeds over long distances.
What is the wind?
This tall, sunny flower is famous for tracking the movement of the sun across the sky.
What is a sunflower?
Located in the Mojave Desert, this dangerously hot national park contains the lowest point in North America.
What is Death Valley?
This slow-moving rainforest mammal spends almost its entire life hanging upside down in the branches of trees.
What is a sloth?
This dark, spongy substance is formed in soil when plant and animal matter fully decomposes.
What is humus?
Seeds enter this state of temporary metabolic inactivity to survive harsh conditions like freezing winters or droughts.
What is dormancy?
To protect its beautiful blooms, this popular romantic flower grows sharp prickles on its stem.
What is a rose?
This iconic suspension bridge spans a one-mile strait connecting San Francisco to Marin County.
What is the Golden Gate Bridge?
This slimy creature wiggles through dirt, eating dead leaves and making the soil healthy for plant roots.
What is an earthworm?