Photosynthesis
The green organelle inside leaf cells where photosynthesis takes place.
What is a chloroplast?
The waxy, waterproof top layer of a leaf that prevents water loss in dry environments.
What is the cuticle?
Tiny, microscopic extensions on roots that massively increase surface area to absorb more water.
What are root hairs?
Desert plants like cacti often modify their leaves into these sharp structures to prevent water loss and deter animals.
What are spines or needles?
The microscopic pores on a leaf that open and close to manage gas exchange.
What are stomata?
The microscopic sugar molecule created by the plant as its primary source of food.
What is glucose?
In a dark rainforest understory, leaves adapt by becoming very ______ to catch as much faint sunlight as possible.
wide or broad
This single, deep, vertical root system allows a plant to reach water reservoirs far underground.
What is a taproot?
These plants have thick, fleshy leaves or stems designed specifically to store massive amounts of water.
What are succulents?
The vascular tissue that acts like an internal elevator, carrying water upward from the roots.
What is xylem?
The gas from the air that plants capture through their leaves to use as an input.
What is carbondioxide?
These specialized cells flank the stomata, expanding or shrinking to open or close the pore.
What are guard cells?
This shallow, wide-spreading root network acts like a net to quickly catch rainfall before it evaporates.
What is a fibrous root network?
Floating water lilies adapt by having their stomata on this side of the leaf instead of the bottom.
What is the top or upper side?
The vascular tissue responsible for distributing glucose downward from the leaves to the rest of the plant.
What is phloem?
The essential gas that plants release into the atmosphere as a byproduct of this process.
What is oxygen?
To prevent overheating in intense sun, some alpine or desert leaves are covered in these tiny, fuzzy structures to create shade.
What are plant hairs or trichomes?
Mangrove trees growing in wet, oxygen-poor mud adapt by growing these specialized, 'breathing' roots upward into the air.
What are pneumatophores or aerial roots?
Epiphyte plants (like air plants or orchids) adapt to dense jungles by growing on branches high in the canopy, absorbing water from this source instead of soil.
What is the air, rain, or humidity?
The process of water evaporating out of leaf pores, which pulls more water up from the roots like a straw.
What is transpiration?
The full chemical recipe for photosynthesis: Carbon Dioxide + ______ + Light energy -> Glucose + Oxygen.
Water
Conifer trees in snowy climates have needle-like leaves with a very low ______ ______ to minimize water loss and shed snow.
What is surface area?
Ivy and other climbing plants use these types of roots to anchor themselves to vertical brick walls or tree trunks.
What are adventitious or climbing roots?
In environments with nitrogen-poor soil, these unique plants adapt by trapping and digesting insects to get nutrients.
What are carnivorous plants?
The force generated inside a cell when the large central vacuole fills with water, keeping the plant upright instead of wilting.
What is turgor pressure?