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What do you already know about plants?
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Press the Right Arrow below to go on to the next page.
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Press the Right Arrow below to go on to the next page.
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6. A leaf on an outdoor plant is monitored with a humidity sensor
for two full days. Here are the results.
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1
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This unit explores how the leaves of a plant produce sugar for growth, flowers, fruits, and seeds. |
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- Why do plants need sunlight and water?
- What happens inside leaves?
- What do plants eat?
You have completed the introduction. Click on the UDL HOME button below.
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What do plants eat?
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Read "A Plant Story" by using the forward and back arrows below. |
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Chapter 1
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2
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"What's happened?" asked Marc, looking up from his bowl of breakfast cereal. The Sugar Pops were almost gone. It was mostly milk now.
"Sonny popped!" said Natasha.
"Who's Sonny?" Marc was trying to decide whether to drink the sugary milk or just leave it.
"Sonny the Sunflower I planted. He's popped!"
"How do you know it's a 'he'?" asked Marc, reasonably. "It's just a flower."
"With a name like 'Sonny,' what else could he be?" asked his sister. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. The important thing is he was just a tiny bud yesterday and this morning he's a great big sunflower. With petals! Come and see!"
"OK," said Marc. He picked up his bowl, poured the milk down the sink, and put the bowl and spoon in the dishwasher. Then he followed his sister out to the backyard.
Make a prediction about the story. What do you think will happen next?
Think about what has happened so far, and where you think the story may lead us.
Natasha is excited about her sunflower. Marc wants to know how the sunflower grew so big. I predict the story will tell us about the sunflower.
Sonny had indeed popped. Overnight, it seemed, the sunflower had grown until it was by far the tallest plant in the garden and now all of a sudden it had a beautiful brown and yellow flower on the very top of its long stem.
"How did that happen?" asked Marc.
"What do you mean 'how'? It just happened! Isn't he beautiful?" said Natasha.
"Yeah, but how? I mean, when? I mean, it didn't just happen by magic!"
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3
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"Yes, Mom," said Marc. "But look! Look what happened to Sonny!"
"I know, dear," said his mother. "I saw it this morning. Isn't it pretty? You did a good job planting and watering it," she said to Natasha.
"Marc wants to know how it happened," said Natasha. "How could a tiny little seed and some water turn into this beautiful flower?"
"Oh, it took a bit more than that," said their mother, with a mysterious little smile. "But I tell you what," she went on, "Elvira is coming over today and she might be able to show you a thing or two."
"Your friend Elvira?" said Natasha, "Why didn't you tell us? She's cool! Marc, remember the time she took us to—"
"Ssshh!" said Marc, "She said it was a secret, remember?"
Marc and Natasha have a secret!
We learn just a little about the children's secret. Let's keep reading to find out more about Elvira.
A secret means that there is information that can help me learn about the sunflower.
"Oh, that's right," said Natasha. "I forgot." She turned to her
mother. "Well, anyway, Elvira is definitely the coolest. I bet
she'll know all about Sonny."
"We'll see," said her mother.
"We'll see," said her mother.
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Chapter 2
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4
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Elvira was always a bit shocking. Her hair was flaming red and long enough so she could sit on it. Her eyes were as green as grass and her nose turned up like a ski jump. She wore rings on every finger and too many necklaces to count.
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5
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"So what have you two been doing with yourselves?" she asked, getting out of her little car as Marc and Natasha ran up. "Not just sitting around, I hope! Life is too short for that!"
She had on a bright green shirt with pink polka dots and tight yellow pants. On her feet she wore yellow socks and shoes that looked like baby alligators, complete with teeth at one end and tiny tails at the other. She was carrying an enormous cloth bag and her hair was pinned up in a big ball that sat on top of her head and made her look about ten feet tall.
"Sonny popped!" said Natasha.
"Sonny your sunflower? I was wondering when that would happen."
"You remembered his name!" exclaimed Natasha.
"Of course I did. I wouldn't forget an important thing like that!" said Elvira.
"Marc did," Natasha said, looking scornfully at her brother.
Marc and Natasha are about to go on an adventure. What kind of adventure do you think it will be?
Does the story give any clues about the children's adventure?
Elvira tells the children that she will show them how plants move. I think they will go on an adventure to see this.
"I did not," said Marc. "I knew it all along. I just forgot it for a second when you told me that he popped."
"Come see him," said Natasha. "He's beautiful!" She grabbed Elvira's hand and dragged her around the house to the flower garden in the back.
"That's a big sunflower!" exclaimed Elvira, as soon as she saw Sonny. "You must have very good soil in your garden. And you must have watered him regularly, too," she said, turning to Natasha.
"I did," said Natasha, proudly.
"I still don't understand something," said Marc, "Where did this great big plant come from, anyway? I saw the seed that Natasha planted – it was tiny. I don't see how something this big could possibly grow out of such a small seed, I don't care how much water she put on it!"
"Oh, it's not just the water," said Elvira. "Plants need lots of things to grow. And they don't just grow, either. I bet you didn't know that plants move just like you do! They don't walk around, of course, but they bend and sway and turn. I'll show you, but first let me go say 'Hi' to your mom." And she turned and went into the house, leaving Natasha and Marc to wonder what new adventure was about to start.
"Come see him," said Natasha. "He's beautiful!" She grabbed Elvira's hand and dragged her around the house to the flower garden in the back.
"That's a big sunflower!" exclaimed Elvira, as soon as she saw Sonny. "You must have very good soil in your garden. And you must have watered him regularly, too," she said, turning to Natasha.
"I did," said Natasha, proudly.
"I still don't understand something," said Marc, "Where did this great big plant come from, anyway? I saw the seed that Natasha planted – it was tiny. I don't see how something this big could possibly grow out of such a small seed, I don't care how much water she put on it!"
"Oh, it's not just the water," said Elvira. "Plants need lots of things to grow. And they don't just grow, either. I bet you didn't know that plants move just like you do! They don't walk around, of course, but they bend and sway and turn. I'll show you, but first let me go say 'Hi' to your mom." And she turned and went into the house, leaving Natasha and Marc to wonder what new adventure was about to start.
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Chapter 3
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6
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"That looks just like the remote control on our TV," said Marc. "The one Natasha is always hogging!" Natasha glared at him, but said nothing.
"It is, kind of," said Elvira. "But a regular remote only controls the TV. This one is a little different. Watch!"
She pressed a button on the remote control. "Notice anything different?"
"Not really," said Marc.
After a few moments Natasha said, "It's awfully quiet."
"See that zinnia over there?" said Elvira, pointing to a pretty purple flower two rows away. "Look closely at it." The two children went over and peered at the zinnia.
Wow, a magic remote control! How cool!
What does the story tell us about the remote control?
Elvira's magic remote control works on the real world. It can stop time!
"There's a bee flying around it," said Natasha. She bent over to look more closely. "Oh, no, it's not! It's just hanging there!" she exclaimed. And sure enough, the bee was hanging motionless in mid-air an inch or two above the flower. Even its wings had stopped moving. "Look out in the street," said Elvira. "Do you see anything different?"
Marc and Natasha raced to the back fence and looked over it. "Nothing is moving," Marc reported. "The cars are all stopped."
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"That's because I pressed 'Stop' on the remote control," said Elvira. "This is a magic remote. It works on the real world instead of the television. It stops time!"
"How come we're moving around, then?" Marc wanted to know.
"Oh, it doesn't work on us," replied Elvira, "just everything else in the world. Watch what else I can do!" She pressed another button and the cars and the people in the street started to move backwards. "I've hit 'Rewind,'" said Elvira. "Time is running in reverse."
"That is so cool!" said Natasha, "Can you fast forward it, too?" She was thinking how she would love to be able to fast forward right through her homework.
"Sure," said Elvira, "but right now I want to show you something. Come back and watch your sunflower while I speed up the rewind!"
Elvira hit the "Rewind" button several more times and things really started to go crazy. The sun moved across the sky and set in the east. It turned dark and the stars came out. But just a few seconds later the sun rose again and started to move across the sky. When it was halfway across Elvira pressed the "Stop" button and the sun stood still once more.
Now is a good time for another prediction. What do you think will happen next?
Think about what the children want to know about the sunflower when you make your prediction.
Marc and Natasha want to know how the sunflower grows and moves, so I predict Elvira will use her remote control to show them.
"Look!" said Elvira, "Look at Sonny!" At the tip of the sunflower
plant, where a few minutes before there had been a large flower, now
there was only a bud.
"I get it," said Natasha. "We've gone back to yesterday when Sonny was only a bud."
"Right," said Elvira, "Now let's go way back. Back to before Sonny was even born!" She pressed the Rewind button again and again. Day and night flew by so quickly that they seemed just a flicker. The sunflower got smaller and smaller. Elvira waited until it had disappeared into the ground. Then she pressed "Stop."
"Now watch closely," said Elvira. "I'm going to run time forward, not as fast as before, but fast enough. Each day will take less than a minute. Watch what happens to Sonny."
Time started up again. Marc and Natasha watched as a green stem poked timidly out of the soil and little bumps began to form along its sides. As the days went by, the stem got taller and the bumps turned into leaves. By the time the plant was about a foot tall, the children noticed an odd thing.
"I get it," said Natasha. "We've gone back to yesterday when Sonny was only a bud."
"Right," said Elvira, "Now let's go way back. Back to before Sonny was even born!" She pressed the Rewind button again and again. Day and night flew by so quickly that they seemed just a flicker. The sunflower got smaller and smaller. Elvira waited until it had disappeared into the ground. Then she pressed "Stop."
"Now watch closely," said Elvira. "I'm going to run time forward, not as fast as before, but fast enough. Each day will take less than a minute. Watch what happens to Sonny."
Time started up again. Marc and Natasha watched as a green stem poked timidly out of the soil and little bumps began to form along its sides. As the days went by, the stem got taller and the bumps turned into leaves. By the time the plant was about a foot tall, the children noticed an odd thing.
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"Sonny is moving!" said Natasha. "He's not just growing. He's turning, too. It's just like he's alive!"
"He is alive, silly!" said Marc. "Just because he's a plant…"
"Yeah, but I never realized that plants could move like that. Notice that he only seems to do it during the daytime, too. At night he just droops."
"Do you notice anything special about the way Sonny moves?" asked Elvira. Natasha and Marc stared intently at the plant. For a few minutes nobody said anything as the sun sailed again and again across the sky, rising in the east and setting in the west. Night followed day and day followed night, over and over. A bud began to form at the top of the sunflower plant.
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"He's pointing the tops of his leaves at the sun," corrected Natasha. "The rest of him isn't moving. I wonder why he does that."
Suddenly the bud opened up and out popped a flower. The sun stopped moving.
"We're back in the present," said Elvira. "No more fast forward for us. This is a magical remote control, but it can't see into the future!"
"That was crazy!" said Marc. "Do plants really do that?"
"Do what?"
"Move to follow the sun like that. It was almost as if Sonny was trying to get a tan at the beach!"
The children ask a lot of questions!
Asking questions is a great way to learn. What questions do you have about the story?
Elvira answers the children's questions and also helps them to discover the answers themselves. If we keep reading, we can learn more.
"Not every plant does it, but a lot of them do," said Elvira.
"People don't notice that plants move because they do it so slowly."
"But why do they do it?" asked Natasha. "They can't really get a tan, can they?"
"No, they don't tan," said Elvira, "but they do need the sun for other things. I promise to show you that later, but right now I think I hear your mom calling us to come in for lunch."
"OK," said Natasha, "but remember, you promised!"
"But why do they do it?" asked Natasha. "They can't really get a tan, can they?"
"No, they don't tan," said Elvira, "but they do need the sun for other things. I promise to show you that later, but right now I think I hear your mom calling us to come in for lunch."
"OK," said Natasha, "but remember, you promised!"
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Chapter 4
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"Maybe she'll get Sonny to talk to us and tell us why he moves around that way!" said Marc.
"No way," Natasha said. "Plants can't talk!"
"I didn't think they could move either," said Marc, "until she showed us they could. Who knows what else plants can do?"
"We'll soon find out," said Natasha.
But it wasn't so soon, after all. The minute lunch was over and they had put their dishes in the sink, Marc and Natasha rushed out to see what Sonny was doing. Sure enough, the sunflower's leaves were broadside to the sun, soaking in the rays. Natasha was so proud of the sunflower she wanted to give Sonny a hug, but she was afraid it might hurt him.
They waited for Elvira to come out and show them why Sonny moved. They waited a long time, but Elvira stayed inside, talking to their mother. Finally, just when they were sure she had forgotten all about them, she came rushing out.
"Are you ready?" she called out. "We'd better hurry now. We don't have much time!"
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"Oh, we have one of those in school," said Marc. "It makes things look bigger."
"This one is a little different," said Elvira. "It doesn't just make things look bigger, it actually makes them bigger. Watch what it does to Sonny!"
She walked over to the sunflower plant and put the magnifying glass close to one of its leaves, and pressed a button. Immediately the leaf started to grow. Before long it was bigger than Marc and Natasha put together!
"If you look closely now you'll see that the underside of this leaf has little holes in it," said Elvira. "They're called 'stomata' and they're going to come in very handy."
"Why?" asked Natasha. The leaf was still growing. The little holes were getting bigger and bigger. The nearest one was already as big as her head.
Think about why the children are going into the plant leaf.
How fun to travel inside a huge leaf!
Elvira wants to show the children something inside the plant leaf.
"Because they will let us get into the leaf," said Elvira. "Like
this!" She grabbed Marc and Natasha by the hand, gave a little jump,
and sailed with them through one of the stomata.
"This is just like Alice in Wonderland!" said Natasha, "Only we're going down a leaf hole instead of a rabbit hole!"
"This is just like Alice in Wonderland!" said Natasha, "Only we're going down a leaf hole instead of a rabbit hole!"
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Chapter 5
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"We're almost there!" said Elvira, "I think it's just around this turn…. Oh, yes, here we are!"
"Where?" asked Natasha.
"We're in the chloroplast!" said Elvira.
"The what?"
"The chloroplast. This is the factory where the leaf makes food."
"Oh," said Natasha. She looked around. They seemed to be floating in the middle of a very big room, so big that they could hardly see the walls. All around them everything was green. Even the light was green. Marc's face looked green in the green light.
"I don't see any food here," said Natasha.
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She took it out and pressed the button. All around them the room started getting bigger and bigger. The walls disappeared into the distance. So did the ceiling and the floor. Elvira, Marc, and Natasha were left floating in a big green space. Elvira held the magnifying button down for a long time. Finally she said, "OK, now you can begin to see them."
"See what?" asked Marc.
"The molecules. Wait a minute, let me focus this thing and try to make it clearer." She fiddled with a knob on the magnifying glass and pretty soon Marc and Natasha were able to see what was going on.
Describe what you see in the picture.
The picture shows molecules.
Look carefully at the picture and describe the details.
"What are those blobby things?" asked Natasha.
"Those are the molecules I was talking about," said Elvira.
The molecules were all different sizes and shapes. The little ones moved very fast, the bigger ones just lumbered around. When two molecules bumped into each other they usually bounced off, but every once in a while they stuck together.
"I've slowed time down a lot with my remote control," said Elvira,
"Otherwise you wouldn't be able to see much. The little molecules
are moving faster than a rifle bullet!" "It's confusing," said Marc.
"With everything bouncing around like this, it looks like the bumper
cars at the fair."
Natasha said, "I don't see why you call it a 'factory.' Aren't factories supposed to make stuff? I don't anything being made by this factory. It's just a big jumble."
"It looks complicated," said Elvira, "but it's basically pretty simple. I can show you what's happening. I have one more trick up my sleeve!" She pressed some buttons on her magnifying glass and most of the molecules disappeared. "I've made all the big molecules invisible for the time being," said Elvira. "Tell me what you see now."
"I see blue molecules and black ones with red spots," said Marc.
"The blue ones are round and the black and red ones are straight," said Natasha.
"The black and red ones look like lady bugs," said Marc.
"The colors of the molecules aren't real," said Elvira. "The magnifying glass colors them that way so that you can see them and tell them apart. Really, molecules are so tiny they don't have colors. But they do have names. The blue ones are water and the black and red ones are carbon dioxide."
Natasha said, "I don't see why you call it a 'factory.' Aren't factories supposed to make stuff? I don't anything being made by this factory. It's just a big jumble."
"It looks complicated," said Elvira, "but it's basically pretty simple. I can show you what's happening. I have one more trick up my sleeve!" She pressed some buttons on her magnifying glass and most of the molecules disappeared. "I've made all the big molecules invisible for the time being," said Elvira. "Tell me what you see now."
"I see blue molecules and black ones with red spots," said Marc.
"The blue ones are round and the black and red ones are straight," said Natasha.
"The black and red ones look like lady bugs," said Marc.
"The colors of the molecules aren't real," said Elvira. "The magnifying glass colors them that way so that you can see them and tell them apart. Really, molecules are so tiny they don't have colors. But they do have names. The blue ones are water and the black and red ones are carbon dioxide."
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"Exactly. You gave the plant those blue molecules when you watered it," said Elvira. Natasha looked pleased.
"Where did the carbon dioxide molecules come from?" Marc wanted to know. "What is carbon dioxide, anyway?"
"I know, I know!" said Natasha. She put her hand up and waved it as though she were in school. "Carbon dioxide is a gas. It's the gas you breathe when you breathe out. You breathe in oxygen and you breathe out carbon dioxide!"
"Very good!" said Elvira.
"So Sonny got those black and red molecules when we breathed on him?" asked Marc.
"He might have, but you didn't really have to breathe on him," said Elvira, "There's enough carbon dioxide in the air already."
"I see something weird!" said Natasha. She had been watching the molecules very closely. "Every once in a while a blue molecule disappears and a purple molecule takes its place! What's going on?"
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"So what happens to all the oxygen atoms?" asked Marc. "Where do they end up?"
"They go into the air," said Elvira, "The plant breathes them out."
"So the plant is just like us," said Natasha excitedly, "only backwards. We breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide; the plant breathes in carbon dioxide and breathes out oxygen!"
"That's right," replied Elvira. "That's one reason plants are so important. If they weren't around, we would use up all the oxygen and suffocate."
Marc had been studying the molecules, too. "There's something else going on," he said. "The carbon dioxides disappear, too, sometimes, but I don't see anything replacing them."
"That's because I made all the big molecules invisible so you could concentrate on the small ones," said Elvira. "What happens is this: the chloroplast factory takes a bunch of carbon dioxide molecules and sticks them together with some hydrogen atoms that it gets from the water, and it makes a bigger molecule that I bet you had for breakfast. I can show you that molecule, too. This magnifying glass can do practically anything! Let me see now, which button do I push? Oh, here it is!"
Natasha makes an important connection. Let's make a connection, too.
Natasha decides that plants are just like people because they also breathe.
Think about how plants and people are alike. Reread this page for
Natasha's thoughts.
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"Those are sugar molecules," said Elvira. "Exactly the same kind of sugar that you eat."
"I ate some of those this morning!" Marc said. "I had Sugar Pops for breakfast."
"Sugar Pops are full of sugar," Elvira agreed, "and it all comes from plants like this one that take water and carbon dioxide molecules and turn them into sugar molecules. Plants make food that way."
Natasha noticed something interesting. "Why are the sugar molecules all moving away?" she asked.
"They're going toward the stem and the roots of the plant," said Elvira. "That's where most of them will be stored until the plant needs them."
"What do you mean, 'needs them'?" asked Marc. "What do plants need sugar molecules for, anyway?"
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"They use them for food," said Elvira. "Sonny will use that sugar and get energy from it and it will make him grow. That's how he grew so big from such a little seed, just the way you grew from being a little baby."
Marc didn't like talking about when he was a baby.
It was getting dark in the leaf. Elvira looked at her watch. "I was afraid of that," she said.
"Afraid of what?" asked Natasha, in an anxious voice. "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing to worry about," said Elvira. "But do you notice anything different?"
Marc and Natasha stared around them for a long time. Then Marc said,
"I don't see any oxygen atoms. No new ones are being made and the
old ones have all gone into the air."
"This factory is still making sugar molecules," said Natasha. "But the oxygen-making part seems to have shut down. Why?"
"Do you remember the question you asked me before lunch?" asked Elvira. "Think about it and you'll figure out what just happened. While you're thinking, though, we have to get out of here. It's getting late. Follow me!"
"This factory is still making sugar molecules," said Natasha. "But the oxygen-making part seems to have shut down. Why?"
"Do you remember the question you asked me before lunch?" asked Elvira. "Think about it and you'll figure out what just happened. While you're thinking, though, we have to get out of here. It's getting late. Follow me!"
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Chapter 6
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"Let's get out of this leaf and then I'll make everything small again," said Elvira. She held down a button on the magnifying glass. "There, now everything is back to normal."
"We must have been in there a long time," said Natasha. "The sun is setting."
"Exactly," said Elvira. "Now do you understand why part of the factory shut down?"
"I bet it needs light to run!" said Marc, excitedly. "It needs the sun to make electricity or something. Like those calculators that run on solar cells."
"You're absolutely right!" said Elvira, beaming at Marc. "The leaves in a plant are like little solar cells. They use the sun's energy to break up the water into oxygen and hydrogen. The sugar-making part of the factory can work at night, but the step that gets it all started needs the sun's energy to run."
How would you summarize the main points of the story?
Think about what the children learned and how they learned. You can go back to read or look at the pictures to help you remember the details.
During their adventure in the plant, the children learn that a plant is like a factory that makes sugar, water, and oxygen.
"And that's why Sonny turns his leaves to the sun!" said Natasha.
"He's not getting a tan, he's getting as much energy as he can while
the sun is up!"
"Right again," said Elvira. "You see? I promised I'd explain why Sonny's leaves move like that."
"Kind of a long explanation!" said Marc. "But I'm glad you showed us that chloroplast factory. That was cool! You could have just told us the answer, I suppose, but this was a lot more fun!"
The End
Congratulations! You have completed this activity. Click on the Home button below, then ask your teacher for further instructions.
"Right again," said Elvira. "You see? I promised I'd explain why Sonny's leaves move like that."
"Kind of a long explanation!" said Marc. "But I'm glad you showed us that chloroplast factory. That was cool! You could have just told us the answer, I suppose, but this was a lot more fun!"
Congratulations! You have completed this activity. Click on the Home button below, then ask your teacher for further instructions.
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A plant story
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1
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In this activity, you must help a plant through a season of
growth by choosing whether to add roots, leaves, or flowers.
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Each Team:
- 0.5 liter plastic water bottle
- 1 straw or wooden splint
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml)
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml)
- 1 small funnel
- 1 measuring cup (250 ml) with metric scale
- 1 small beaker to act as water reservoir
- Weather Report chart
- score card
- 30 small paper clips (roots)
- 1 set of about 40 sugar tokens (laminated if possible)
- 1 set of about 30 green leaf cards (laminated if possible)
- 1 set of about 20 flower cards (laminated if possible)
- scissors
- one-hole punch
- 1 calculator or piece of scrap paper
- 2 standard dice
Each Class:
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Engage
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3
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| Start with a 0.5 liter bottle, one leaf card, a straw, and three paper clips that act as your root. You also need a teaspoon, a tablespoon, and a cup to measure water. |
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4
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Set up your young "plant" as shown in the diagram. Fill the
water bottle so that one paper clip is completely in water and
the other two are out of water. This is like a newly seeded
plant in the spring, when the soil is soaked with water from
the spring rains.
The tiny plant has already made a short root, represented by the paper clip. Now you will decide how the seedling will grow. But the weather will affect your decisions. Let's get started! |
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5
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To predict each day's weather, Mother Nature (your teacher) will roll a standard die.
The roll, or "weather report" for the day may be:
- sunny (a good day for making sugar)
- cloudy (not much sugar made)
- dry (a lot of water lost through the leaves)
- rainy (add water to your plastic bottle)
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6
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Plants need rainfall to supply water to the leaves through the roots. Also, the leaves lose water as part of the process of making sugar.
Based on the number that comes up during each roll of the die, the Weather Report (next page) shows how much sugar your plant will make. It also shows the water gain (rainfall) or water loss (through the leaves).
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Weather Report
| Number on the Die | Weather | Making Sugars | Rainfall or Loss of Water Through Leaves |
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chilly,
downpour |
no sugar made | gain 100 ml (use measuring cup) OR 6 tablespoons |
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cool, light rain | make 1 sugar X number of leaves | gain 30 ml (2 tablespoons) |
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very humid, overcast | make 2 sugars X number of leaves | lose 5 ml of water (1 teaspoon) X number of leaves |
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warm, partly cloudy | make 3 sugars X number of leaves | lose 10 ml of water (2 teaspoons) X number of leaves |
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humid, sunny | make 4 sugars X number of leaves | lose 10 ml of water (2 teaspoons) X number of leaves |
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sunny, very dry, hot | make 4 sugars X number of leaves | lose 20 ml of water (4 teaspoons) X number of leaves |
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8
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9
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Here are the costs for plant growth:
- To make a leaf, the cost is 10 sugar tokens.
- To make a root, the cost is 10 sugar tokens.
- To make a flower, the cost is 20 sugar tokens.
You are free to store sugars for as long as you wish. You can wait to make leaves, roots, or flowers when you think it will be the most beneficial to the plant.
The winner of the game will be the student with the most flowers.
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How the game ends
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10
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As in nature, you won't know exactly when the game will end. Mother Nature (your teacher) determines when autumn will arrive.
For example, Mother Nature may decide that the growing season might be as short as 15 days. Starting on day #15, your teacher will roll a pair of dice. If any identical pair comes up, there's a frost! If it's not a pair, the game will continue as before for another day. If you reach day #20 without rolling a pair, the frost will automatically happen.
GAME OVER!
The winner of the game will be the student with the most flowers. Their plant has the best chance of making lots of seeds and many other plants for the next season!
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Strategy suggestions
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11
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If your roots are completely out of the water, you cannot make any sugar . You must skip the turn and wait for a rainy day. You still must lose water through the leaves.
However, if you have stored sugars, you may use them to buy roots (or leaves or flowers) even while your roots are out of water. So plan carefully!
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Explore
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12
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13
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| These three graphs are made from your entries. |
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Roots graph
Leaves graph
Flowers graph
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Explain
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14
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15
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16
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17
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Elaborate
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18
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| Fill in the number of leaves, roots, and flowers at the end of your game in the table below. Divide the number of leaves by the number of roots. This is the leaf/root ratio. Place the ratio into the Leaf/root ratio column of the table. |
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19
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20
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21
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How do plants make food to grow?
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1
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In this activity, students study a model of photosynthesis in a chloroplast inside a leaf. |
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Engage
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2
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3
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Explore
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4
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| We will use a model of photosynthesis to explore where the matter and energy come from to build a plant. A tree has thousands of leaves, but this model will zoom in on one leaf. The leaf is attached to a branch on a tree. |
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5
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Play a movie
(click
here)
to see how to run the model.
Run the model and observe photosynthesis in action! Run the model for a little bit and then go on. |
This model was created using NetLogo. Go
here
to explore the model on your own.
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Explore
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6
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If the movie will not work, study the labels in the picture.
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7
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| You can use these sliders in the model to control the amount of sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water available to the plant. You will try them one by one. |
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Sunlight
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8
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This model was created using NetLogo. Go
here
to explore the model on your own.
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Water
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9
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This model was created using NetLogo. Go
here
to explore the model on your own.
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Explain
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11
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Elaborate
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12
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Hint: it's in one of the materials that is necessary for photosynthesis.
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Congratulations! You have completed this activity.
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How do leaves make food for plants?
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1
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In this activity you will study a model of a leaf showing how plants make food from water, carbon dioxide, and sunlight. |
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Engage
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2
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3
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| Now let's try to understand what is happening inside a leaf. We will use a model of photosynthesis. A tree has thousands of leaves, but this model will zoom in on one leaf. The leaf is attached to a branch on a tree. |
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4
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1. a light-dependent step that needs sunlight. Energy in the sun's light rays excite the chloroplast. An excited chloroplast has extra energy.
2. a light-independent step that does not need sunlight. The extra energy from the chloroplast is used up making sugar for the plant.
The chemical steps inside these reactions are very complicated! The overall result, however, is not so complicated. Sugar, oxygen, and water vapor are produced from sunlight, water, and CO 2 .
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Explore
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5
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Here is a model that demonstrates photosynthesis. Play a movie
(click
here)
to see how to run the model.
Try the running the model and observe photosynthesis in action! Play with the model for a little bit and then go on. |
This model was created using NetLogo. Go
here
to explore the model on your own.
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6
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Explain
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7
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8
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Elaborate
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9
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This model was created using NetLogo. Go
here
to explore the model on your own.
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10
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This model was created using NetLogo. Go
here
to explore the model on your own.
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11
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This model was created using NetLogo. Go
here
to explore the model on your own.
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12
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Congratulations! You have completed this activity.
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What happens inside a leaf?
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1
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In this activity you will investigate the importance of breathing for a living plant. |
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Engage
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2
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Imagine a large jar with a plant inside.
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3
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4
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Explore
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6
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7
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Click on the glossary for a definition.
on the right.
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8
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Connect the humidity sensor to the computer. Click on the magnifying glass
for
a technical hint.
for
a movie showing how to use the data collection graph.
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9
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10
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11
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12
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Obtain a small potted plant with broad leaves from your
teacher.
Use one of the leaves to trace a pattern of the leaf on construction paper. |
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13
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14
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Explain
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15
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Elaborate
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16
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Do plants breathe?
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1
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Study actual data of the growth of plants for nine days under different conditions of light and water. |
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Engage
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2
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3
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Explore
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4
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- lots of sun and lots of water
- lots of sun and no water
- no sun and lots of water
- no sun and no water
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Plant number 1:
lots of sun and lots of water.
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5
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The table records each day's observations.
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| Plant number 1: lots of sun and lots of water. |
6
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The line graph displays the length of the vine.
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Plant number 2:
lots of sun and no water.
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7
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The table records each day's observations.
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Plant number 2:
lots of sun and no water.
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8
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The line graph displays the length of the vine.
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Plant number 3:
no sun and lots of water.
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9
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The table records each day's observations.
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Plant number 3:
no sun and lots of water.
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10
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The line graph displays the length of the vine.
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Plant number 4:
no sun and no water.
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11
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The table records each day's observations.
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Plant number 4:
no sun and no water.
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12
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The line graph displays the length of the vine.
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Explain
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13
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Now let's compare all four graphs to determine which plant
grew the most over the six days.
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- Each plant started with a vine of different length.
- Growth is shown from day to day by the slope of the line. A steeper line means there was faster growth.
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How fast will a plant grow under different conditions?
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1
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Now it's time to review and summarize what you have learned
about plants. To help, you can show all of your snapshots and
some of your written answers from the activities. They are all
in your lab book.
Review the questions on the following pages. There is a separate page for each activity that you worked on. Be prepared to share your answers with the rest of the class. |
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A Plant Story
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2
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Photosynthesis: the big picture
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3
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Photosynthesis: a closer look
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4
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Plant game
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5
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Monitoring a living plant
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6
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Rates of growth
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7
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Summary
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8
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9
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Let your teacher know that you are done. Your teacher will give you a password so you can take a short test.
| Password: |
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Wrapping up
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Press the Right Arrow below to go on to the next page.
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2
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Press the Right Arrow below to go on to the next page.
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3
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6. A leaf on an outdoor plant is monitored with a humidity sensor
for two full days. Here are the results.
Press the Right Arrow below to go to the next page.
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Press the Right Arrow below to go to the next page.
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4
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Press the Right Arrow below to go on to the next page.
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5
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| Click the Submit button when you have finished. |
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What have you learned about plants?
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