Yr8 Course Outline 2008

Plants

Year 7 Revision: The Characteristics of Living Things

Movement changing position
Reproduction producing young
Growth increasing in size
Responding responding to the environment around you
Excretion getting rid of waste
Assimilation changing food into the stuff of its body
Respiration using oxygen to release energy from food(in all cells)

You can remember this from the first letter of each word:

MR GREAR

1
How do plants and animals fit into these characteristics?
Complete the table with how the organism may perform each of the
following features of living things.

Feature Example in Plants Example in Animals

Will slowly turn to face the
sun or grow roots toward
Movement water although fixed to one
place.

Produce new plants from seeds

or cuttings
Reproduction

Grow larger from birth to

maturity
Growth

Respond to the direction of

sunlight and availability of
Responding water

Release the waste products of

respiration (carbon dioxide and
Excretion water)

Turn protein foods into muscle

Assimilation

Use oxygen and food to release

the energy in food
Respiration

2
How do plant and animal cells differ?

1. What do plants need to do? p___________________________

2. What substance in the plant allows this to happen? c__________

3. Where is this substance usually found in a plant? l____________

4. Label the cell diagrams below as plant or animal.

____________________ ____________________

5. How can you tell? ___________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

What is photosynthesis again?

Photosynthesis is the way plants make food. Plants ‘trap’ the sun's
energy in the green stuff called chlorophyll which is found in the
special parts of plant cells called chloroplasts mostly found in the
leaves. This is why plants are green.
The energy the chlorophyll traps is changed, into food energy in the
simple sugar, glucose. When the plant has made the glucose it can
then change it into other compounds, which the plant uses to live.

3
The plant needs raw material to make glucose. These raw materials
are:
• Carbon dioxide gas from the atmosphere by absorbing it
through its leaves and
• Water which the roots absorb from the soil and transport up to
the leaves.

The whole process can be summarised in an equation:

(in the presence of)

Light energy
carbon dioxide + water glucose + oxygen +water
Chlorophyll

But why is photosynthesis so important?

Since the energy for life comes from the sun and only plants can trap
the sun’s energy in photosynthesis, then plants are responsible for
providing the energy for all other living things.
Complete the labelling on the following chart:

4
What is respiration again?
Respiration is the chemical process which releases the energy in
food to provide the energy for life. All living cells in all plants and
animals must respire.
The raw materials for respiration are:
• Oxygen that they get from the air or water.
• Glucose which comes from the food they eat.
The oxygen and glucose react inside the cells of the organism to
release energy. Two by-products are produced are water and carbon
dioxide which the organism excretes.

The whole process can be summarised in an equation:

glucose + oxygen carbon dioxide + water + energy

Complete the labelling on the following respiration chart:

5
How do these processes work together?
Photosynthesis and respiration work together in the living world,
helping to recycle the carbon dioxide and oxygen.
Complete the chart below showing the relationship:

Now complete the photosynthesis/respiration crossword:

6
Clues:
ACROSS
2. product of photosynthesis
5. produced in respiration
6. way plants make food
8. site of photosynthesis
9. eats plants or other animals
12. 02
13. makes its own food

Year 8: Plants in detail

Activity: Observing a flowering plant

Aim: To identify the main parts of a garden weed
Method:
1. Find a garden weed (not grass) which has a flower
2. Lay it out on the bench and identify its parts using the diagram.
3. Record the numbers of each part in the table next to the name.

Results;
Part No Colour
Main root

Root hairs

Stem

Leaf

Flower

Bud

Apical (tip) bud

7
Conclusion:
The two main systems of a flowering plant are the:
• root system and the
• shoot system
The root system is made up of:

i. _________________________

ii. _________________________

The shoot system is made up of:

i. _________________________

ii. _________________________

iii. _________________________

iv. _________________________

Plant germination and growth

Experiment: Measuring plant growth from germination

Aim: To measure and graph the rate of growth of a simple plant.

Method:
1. Examine the the seed.
2. Record its appearance.
3. Fill a plastic cup with soil to about a centimeter of the top.
4. Push the seeds just a few millimeters into the soil
5. Add a small amount of water.
6. Observe, measure and water each lesson for
about 10 days
7. Record all results in a table

8
Results;

Height
Day Observations
(mm)

Variables:
Variables are the things which affect the result of an experiment.
All of the variables are kept equal except for the two which are
being related. Some of the variables which would be kept equal in
this experiment are soil, water, position etc. The two related
variables are as follows:

• The variable you set is the independent variable, in this case time
• The variable which depends on how long the seed is growing is the
dependant variable and in this case, plant height.

When the data is graphed on a line graph, the independent variable,

time, goes on the horizontal axis (x axis) and the dependant variable,
plant height, goes on the vertical axis (y axis).

9
Graph:

Conclusion:
• The seed germinated after ____ days

• The first part to be seen was ________________________

• The first leaves appeared at ____ days

• It grew to a maximum height of ____ mm after ____ days

10
More about the root system
All flowering plants have a root system. The root system is found
under the ground.
It consists of two parts:
• Main root/s
• Root hairs
The function of the root system is:
• anchorage
• absorption of water and salts through the root hairs

Experiment- Are roots needed for plant to absorb water?

Aim: To determine if roots are necessary for plants to absorb water
Method:
1. Set up two plants in test tubes as
shown
2. Mark the water levels in each
3. Allow to stand in a sunny position
for a few days
4. Check water levels again

Results:
__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

Conclusion: (draw an ‘after’ diagram)

Plants __________ roots

to be able to ___________

water.

11
More about the shoot system
All flowering plants have a shoot system. The shoot system is found
above the ground.
It consists of four main parts:
• Stem
• Leaves
• Apical bud (for growing)
• Flowers (for reproduction)
The stem has two functions:
• It supports the leaves, buds and flowers.
• It transports water and salts from the roots to the leaves and
food from the leaves to the rest of the plant.

Experiment- Do leaves pull water through a Plant?

Aim: To determine if leaves are needed to ‘pull’ water from the soil

Method:
1. Set up the materials as shown in a sunny position and check next
lesson.
2. Draw and label what you see.

Plant A (leaves) Plant B (no leaves)

12
Results:
Plant A Plant B

Conclusion:
• Leaves are __________ for water to move up the stem
through special __________ which are called xylem vessels.
• Food made in the leaves travels through other special vessels
called phloem vessels.
• Together, the phloem and xylem vessels are called vascular
bundles.

More about leaves

Leaves have two functions:
• transpiration - the movement of water through the plant from
the roots to the leaves and back into out into the atmosphere
through tiny holes or pores in the leaves called stomates (the
transpiration stream).
• photosynthesis - the food making process in the leaves

Experiment- Do leaves lose water?

Aim: To determine if plants lose water through their leaves.
Method:
1. Tie a plastic bag around a twig with leaves in the school playground

2. Make sure the bag is tightly sealed

3. Leave for the whole period
4. Check the bag at the end of the period

13
Results:
__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________
Conclusion:
The plant _______ water through its _______

Experiment- Where are most stomates found in a leaf?

Aim: To determine where most stomates are found on the leaf
Method:
1. Set up the equipment as shown.
2. Cover both surfaces of leaf a in Vaseline, the under surface of
leaf b, the upper surface of leaf c and no surfaces of leaf d.
3. Leave them for a few days and record their appearance

Results:
• Leaf a ________________________________________

• Leaf b ________________________________________

• Leaf c ________________________________________

• Leaf d ________________________________________
Conclusion:
• Most stomates are found on the ________ of the leaf because
when it was left unsealed, the leaf was most wilted.
• Leaves a and d are controls to compare the results of b and c
with.

14
Look at some stomates under the microscope
Did they look like those in the diagram below? ________________

Photosynthesis revisited
Fill in the labelling blanks on the following diagram for the
substances that enter and leave the leaf during photosynthesis.

15
Write a word equation for the photosynthesis and include the
conditions which have to be present for the reaction to occur.

Plants store energy by changing the glucose into starch. Some

plants store it in the roots like potatoes or the leaves like cabbage
or the flowers like cauliflower and even in the stem like celery.
Photosynthesis and respiration compared
Complete the following chart labels
Photosynthesis Respiration

16
What do flowers do?
Use the words in the following list to fill-in the blanks in the text.

ovules, anther, petals, sepals, birds, pistil, bud, stamen, coloured ,

pollen, flower, protect, three, two, insects, ovary, reproductive,
pollen, stigma, style, seed, germinate, dispersed, fertilisation

The flower is the r_________ part of the plant.

It is made up of:
• The sepals
• The petals
• The stamens
• The pistil

What are the sepals and what do they do?

The se________ are an outer ring of green leaves, which cover

and protect the flower in the bud stage. The function of the sepals

is to pr_______ the flower in its b____ stage.

What are the petals and what do they do?

The coloured petals lay inside the protective ring of the se______.

The petals are c________ to make them attractive to insects and

birds. I_______ and b______ help the plants to reproduce by

spreading the its po_____.

17
What is the stamen and what does it do?

Inside the coloured pe______ is the male part of the flower called

the sta______.

It is made up of t___ parts:

• The filament, which supports the anther.

• The anther, which produces pollen

The a________ produces pollen. Pollen is the plants male sex cell.

What is the pistil and what does it do?

The pi______ is found in the very centre of the flower. It is the

female part of the f______.

It is made up of t_____ parts:

• The stigma
• The style
• The ovary

The sti_____ is found at the top of the pistil. It is a sticky knob

and its function is to catch po_______.

The sty__ is a thin stalk, which connects the stigma to the ovary.

The ova___ is a swelling at the base of the pistil. The ovary

contains the plants female cells called ovu____.

18
How does reproduction take place in a flowering plant?

The po_____ is transferred to the sti____ by birds, insects or

wind. The pollen is caught by the sticky sti____ and passes down the

sty___ and into the ova___ and unites with the ovu___ (called

f_____________) which then forms a se___. The seeds are then

scattered or d_________. If they fall on favourable ground and

receive water, they g__________ and a new plant grows.

Germination in detail
Germination is how a seed starts to changes into a plant. This will
only happen if the seed have the right conditions.
When the germination two parts push out of the seed:
• The seed root grows downwards first
• The seed shoot grows upwards second
Before a seed can germinate, it must have:
• a supply of water
• a supply of oxygen
• a suitable temperature
Stages of germination:

19
Activity:
From the above description of parts and function, label the diagram
below and then complete the ‘structure/function’ table following it.

Male
Structure Function

Female
Structure Function

Structural
Structure Function

20
How do we classify plants?
Following is a plant classification key which divides all plants into five
main groups according to structural similarities.

Exercise: A. From the above key chart, identify the following:

a) Seaweed: Does not produce flowers.

Has no roots.
Has no stem.

Plant type:

b) Eucalyptus: Has a long woody trunk.

Has roots.
Produces seeds.
Produces flowers.

Plant type:

21
 B. From the above key chart, describe the following:
a)A flowering banksia:

Kingdom?

Stem?

Seeds?

Flowers?
b) Cone-bearing pine (conifer):

Kingdom?

Stem?

Seeds?

Flowers?

Are angiosperms classified into different groups?

• Angiosperms are further classified as either monocotyledons or
dicotyledons. (shortened to monocot and dicot)
• A cotyledon (or seed leaf) is a small leaf which first appears
when a seed is germinating and contains stored food.
• Monocots have only one cotyledon, dicots have two cotyledons.
• The differences are as shown below in the table:

• There are estimated to be about 165,000 different types of

dicots and 55,000 types of monocots.

22
.

How are plants useful to humans? (complete the mind map)

Plants

23
How do plants survive in their varied environments?
All living organisms have special features, which allow them to
survive in their environment. These special features are called
adaptations.

Plants also adapt to the habitat in which they live. Some common
adaptations are:

• Eucalyptus trees (only native to Australia) have woody seed

capsule because they can't afford to use excess water to make
the soft fruit found in plants that live in climates with more
rainfall.
• Cacti (Xerophytes) live in desserts, which are very dry. A
cactus can't afford to loose moisture. But it does get lots of
sun so it doesn't need a lot of leaf area. It solves its problem
by having short spiny leaves with the stomates deep in grooves
in the spine. This way water lose through the stomata is
reduced.
• Staghorn Fern (Epiphytes) live in rain forests. They can get
plenty of water but nutrients are a problem. They get the
nutrient by growing in crevice in a tree trunk where the leaf
litter from the tree has collected. Epiphyte means air plant as
they seem to grow in the air.
• Venus Fly Trap (carnivorous plants) live in soil which is boggy
and lacks nutrients. They get the extra nutrients they need by
capturing flies and digesting them. They still make sugars
through photosynthesis.
• Seed Types each type of plant has a different size and shape
of seed, which allows the seed to be distributed in a particular
way. Seed with flesh around them (usually called fruit) are
designed for animal to eat and so move the seeds to a different
place. Other seed have little propellers or parachutes on then
which allows them to be moved around by the wind. Some seeds
like bindii stick to an animal so they can move to another
location.

24
How do plants supply the energy for the living world?
Plants store the suns energy during photosynthesis in the form of
glucose (plant food) They are the producers in the food chain.
Animals get this energy either by eating plants or eating other
animals which have eaten plants and so the energy is passed on.
Animals are therefor consumers in the food chain.
Example: The food chain of a fox. (arrow means ‘is eaten by’)

grass rabbit fox

producer consumer consumer

Video Exercise: How a Plant Works

1. The parts of a plant are:

• _______________________________

• _______________________________

• _______________________________

• _______________________________

• _______________________________

2. What do all living things need?

• ______________________

• ______________________

• ______________________

25
3. From where do plants get their energy? __________________

4. The process that plants use to trap energy is called? _________

5. What are the two raw materials used in photosynthesis?

• _________________________

• _________________________

6. Why are plants called producers? _______________________

7. What are the openings on the underside of the leaf called? _____

8. What does the root system do?

• ______________________________________________

• ______________________________________________

9. There are two types of tube in the stem of a plant:

• The xylem which carries _____________

• The phloem which caries _____________

10. How do mangrove solve the problem of getting gases they need?

__________________________________________________
11. How do mangrove plants get rid of their excess salt?

__________________________________________________
19. Why are plants very important to life on earth?

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

26