GRADE 5
TOPIC: Recognize and describe how plants respond to environmental conditions (e.g.,
amount of available water, amount of sunlight)
Plant Responses
Like all organisms, plants detect and respond to stimuli in their environment.
Stimulus is any change that produces or triggers an immediate reaction in an organism. Response is the
quick immediate reaction / action of the organism to the stimuli. Unlike animals, plants can’t run, fly, or
swim toward food or away from danger. They are usually rooted to the soil. Instead, a plant’s primary means
of response is to change how it is growing. Plants also don’t have a nervous system to control their
responses. Instead, their responses are generally controlled by hormones, (plant growth hormone
called auxin). The stimuli can be external – comes from the factors found in the environment. Ex:
temperature, sunlight, predators, presence of food or water or internal - comes from the factors within the
organism. Ex: disease
Most of the movements in plants are response to stimuli. Plants respond to many of the same stimuli that
affects animals. But the response of plants is usually slower. Touch, light, gravity and water are the stimuli
that trigger plant movements.
Plant Tropisms
The movement of plant towards the stimulus is called tropic movement or tropism. If the growth is towards
the direction of stimulus, the tropism is referred to positive tropism. If the growth is against the direction of
the stimulus, the tropism is referred to negative tropism.
Plants are very sensitive to light. The shoot tends to grow towards the light. This type of plant movement in
response, growing towards the light is called phototropism. In phototropism the shoot is positively
phototropic whereas root is negatively phototropic. Here light is the stimulus and the growth of the stem
towards the light is the response.
The roots of plants grow downwards the soil while their shoot grows against the gravity. This type of plant
movement in response, to gravity is called geotropism. In geotropism the shoot is negatively geotropic
whereas root is positively geotropic. Here the gravity is the stimulus and the growth of the root towards the
gravity is the response.
Hydrotropism is a plant's growth response in which the direction of growth is determined by a stimulus or
gradient in water concentration. This type of plant movement in response, to moisture is called
hydrotropism.
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ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
1. Riya kept a potted plant near the window. After few days she noticed the growth of plant as shown in the
figure below. What type of tropism is showing by the given potted plant?
a. Negative geotropism
b. Negative phototropism
c. Positive geotropism
d. Positive phototropism
2. When the plant grows away from the stimuli, it is called ________________
a. Positive tropism b. negative tropism
3. A scientist carried out an experiment to test the response of plant shoot to light. He placed the first box in
a clear box and the second plant in a box with the clear window on one side only. Suggest the expected
result.
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4. Fill in the box with correct type of tropism [positive / negative]
5. Rahul kept some seeds for germination. After few days he observed a white colour growth emerging out
breaking the seed coat as shown in the picture below.?
a. Does the experiment above show the growth of shoot or root?
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b. What types of tropism it will show? ________________________________________________
