Plant Parts & Functions
Which part of a plant absorbs water and nutrients from the soil?
Roots
What is the process plants use to make their own food?
Photosynthesis
What do bees collect from many flowers for food?
Nectar
Name one thing a plant needs to grow.
Water, sunlight, air, or suitable nutrients and growing conditions.
What is a seed?
A structure containing a young plant (embryo) that can grow into a new plant under suitable conditions.
Which plant part transports water from the roots to the leaves?
Stem
What gas do plants take in from the air during photosynthesis?
Carbon dioxide
What powdery substance can bees carry from one flower to another?
Pollen
A student wants to know whether plants grow better with more sunlight. What two conditions should the student compare?
Plants receiving different amounts of sunlight.
What is the job of a seed coat?
It protects the young plant inside the seed.
What tiny openings on leaves allow gases to enter and leave a plant?
Stomata
What do plants produce during photosynthesis as food?
Glucose (sugar)
What is pollination?
The transfer of pollen to the reproductive part of a flower.
In a fair test comparing sunlight, why should the student give both plants the same amount of water?
To keep water the same so sunlight is the main variable being tested.
What does it mean when a plant inherits a trait?
It receives information from its parent or parents that influences a characteristic.
A plant's leaves are damaged and cannot make enough food. Which plant process is affected?
Photosynthesis
Name the three main ingredients plants need for photosynthesis.
Sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide.
Why are brightly colored petals and nectar helpful to flowering plants?
They attract pollinators, such as bees, that can transfer pollen between flowers.
A student thinks tomato plants grow best in the shade. Which investigation is best: grow two tomato plants in different light conditions, grow two different plant species in the shade, or grow one tomato plant with extra water?
Grow two tomato plants in different light conditions while keeping other conditions the same.
A parent plant has purple flowers and sharp leaves. What traits is likely for its offspring to have?
Purple flowers or sharp leaves
Explain how the roots, stem, and leaves work together to help a plant survive.
Roots absorb water and nutrients, the stem transports materials and supports the plant, and leaves use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to make sugar.
A plant receives water and carbon dioxide but is kept in darkness. What will happen to its ability to make sugar through photosynthesis, and why?
It cannot carry out photosynthesis normally because it lacks the light energy needed to make sugar.
A flower produces pollen, but no pollen has reached its reproductive part. Why might the flower have difficulty producing seeds?
Pollination has not occurred, so fertilization may not happen and seeds may not develop.
Two groups grow the same type of plant. One group waters its plants daily, and the other waters its plants once a week. Both groups use the same soil, pots, and sunlight. What is the independent variable, and what could they measure as the dependent variable?
Independent variable — watering frequency. Dependent variable — plant growth, such as height or number of leaves.
Two parent plants contribute genetic information to a seed. What are two characteristics the offspring might inherit?
Traits such as flower color, leaf shape, or plant height.