Activity 1: The Virtual Greenhouse
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Introduction: Studying the natural world
Have you ever wondered about the different plants and animals living on earth? Scientists make discoveries about the wide variety of living things on the earth every day.



In this activity, you will investigate Mystery Plants in the Virtual Greenhouse. You will learn how some plants are adapted to live in different environments. First, you need to know a little bit about how scientists organize plants and animals into groups called species. Click the blue arrow below to get started!
1. Do you think cats and dogs are the same species? Yes No
Introduction: What is a species?
Isn't it amazing how many different kinds of plants and animals live on the earth? Scientists organize these plants and animals into different groups. A group of plants or animals that can have babies together, share similar features, and live in the same environment is called a species.








2. What are some differences among dog breeds? 3. Are all these breeds of dogs the same species? Yes No
Animals: Different breeds of dogs
Many people have pets. Maybe you have a dog. Have you ever noticed how many kinds of dogs there are? Look at the dogs below. Think about how they are different and how they are the same. Scientists call these different kinds of dogs breeds.





4. How does the Labradoodle help explain that dogs are one species? Labradoodles are a mix (hybrid) of two varieties of the same species. Labradoodles are bred for their desirable traits.
Animals: Dogs are a species
Even though there are many breeds of dogs, they are all the same species and share many of the same traits. People choose dogs as pets for different reasons. Poodles are smart dogs with curly hair that doesn't make people with allergies sneeze. Labradors are friendly dogs, but their fur can make some people sneeze. People breed Poodles and Labradors to get Labradoodle puppies.

Mother: Poodle Father: Labrador Child: Labradoodle



Animals: Living in the wild
In nature, animals are not bred to have special features. The environment plays the most important role in where animals live and what they look like.

Did you know that there are different kinds of elephants? Asian and African elephants share many similarities, but they do not have babies together in the wild because they live on different continents. African elephants are taller than Asian elephants and also have much bigger ears. African and Asian elephants are two different species.

African Elephant

Asian Elephant

5. How do you think there came to be so many varieties?
Plants: Different types of vegetables
Some plants have also been bred by farmers over a long time to bring out certain variations. Have you eaten any of these vegetables?

Brussels sprouts

Broccoli

Kale

Cauliflower


This may surprise you: all of these plants are varieties of the same species !







Plants: Growing in the wild
Just like animals, plants are not bred in nature to have special features. The environment plays the most important role in where plants can live and what they look like.

Some plants have large leaves that help them get the most amount of sun. They grow best in shaded areas. If they get too much sun, their leaves turn brown and eventually die. Other plants have very thin leaves and grow best in sunnier places. These plants do not survive in the shade. The plants below need different amounts of sunlight and are two different species.

Hosta

Artemisia



The Virtual Greenhouse: Growing plants
It's time to grow plants in the Virtual Greenhouse. The flower boxes below all have different amounts of sunlight. The box at the top has the most light and the box at the bottom has the least light. There are three different types of plants that you can grow. A healthy plant grows a flower.

Instructions

1. Plant the seeds by clicking on a plant button and then clicking inside the flower boxes. The seed will be the same type of plant as the button. You can put any number of seeds wherever you want.

2. Click the Play button to start growing the plants. If the plants do not grow, click the Reset button and try again.

3. The Information button allows you to see each plant type made larger, like a magnifying glass. Click the Information button then click on a plant to try it.

When you have at least three flowering plants of each type, take a picture of your flower boxes using the picture button.





6. In which flower box does this plant grow best? A B C D E 7. In which flower box does this plant grow best? A B C D E 8. In which flower box does this plant grow best? A B C D E 9. What happens to plants that are in flower boxes with the wrong light level?
The Virtual Greenhouse: Growing plants
Did you notice that each type of plant grows best in a different flower box? Where does each type of plant grow best?








The Virtual Greenhouse: Flower box challenge
Test your theory of how much light each plant needs to be healthy and where each plant grows best. Remember that a healthy plant will flower. A plant will wither, die, and disappear if planted in the flower box with the wrong amount of light.

Instructions

1. Plant just one seed of each type of plant by clicking on the plant button and then clicking once inside a flower box.

2. Click the Play button to start growing the plants. If the plants do not grow, click the Reset button and try again.

When your three plants have flowers, take a picture and write a description in your Lab Book of where each seed was planted.





The Virtual Greenhouse: Mystery Plants
In the Virtual Greenhouse, you planted three Mystery Plants. These plants grew under different amounts of light. Can you make any conclusions yet about whether they are the same or different species? Respond to the following questions and see if they provide more clues.

Remember that a group of plants or animals that can have babies together, share similar features, and live in the same environment is called a species.










10. What differences did you notice in the three types of plants? 11. Can the three plants live in the same environment? Yes No 12. Do you think these three types of plant are the same species? Explain why you think so.
Conclusion
In the Virtual Greenhouse, you planted seeds and they grew to be healthy plants with flowers. But they never made new seeds, which means they did not have babies. In the next activity, we'll explore what happens when plants have babies. You will experiment more with Mystery Plants and find out if they are the same or different species.



You have completed Activity 2. Good job! Click the X at the top of this window to close the activity and save your work.