Download LESSON 1 – What is a plant? • Know what chlorophyll is. o The

LESSON 1 – What is a plant?
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Know what chlorophyll is.
o The green pigment found in the chloroplasts of plants, algae, and some bacteria.
All plants share the following characteristics: (see bold statement on page 85)
o AUTOTROPHS
 Know what photosynthesis is.
 During photosynthesis, a plant uses carbon dioxide gas and water to make food and
oxygen.
o MULTICELLULAR
 What are tissues?
 Tissues are groups of similar cells that perform a specific function.
o MADE OF PLANT CELLS WHICH ARE SURROUNDED BY CELL WALLS
 Know what a cell wall is.
 Surrounds the cell membrane. Makes plant cells more rigid. Makes apples, carrots,
etc…crunchy.
 Know what chloroplasts are.
 Structures in a plant cell where food is made (contain chlorophyll)
 Know what a vacuole is.
 A large storage sac that can expand and shrink. Stores water, food, and waste. A plant
wilts when the vacuole does not have much water in it.
Plants need the following 5 things to successfully live on land:
o They must be able to obtain water and nutrients from their surroundings.
 Roots
o They must be able to retain (hold) water.
 Know what a cuticle is.
 A cuticle is a waxy, waterproof layer that helps to keep water inside the plant.
o They must be able to support their bodies.
o They must be able to transport materials.
 In small plants, how does material move?
 Materials simply pass from one cell to the next cell
 In large plants how does material move?
 Through vascular tissue
 Know what vascular tissue is.
 tube-like structures inside a plant through which water, minerals, and food move.
o They must be able to reproduce.
LESSON 2 – CLASSIFYING PLANTS
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What are the characteristics of nonvascular plants?
o Nonvascular plants are low growing, have thin cell walls, and do not have roots for absorbing water from
the ground.
o Be able to identify and describe the parts of a moss plant.
 Rhizoid
 Rootlike structure for moss that anchors the moss and absorbs water and nutrients.
 Leaflike structure
 The leaves of a moss plant
 Stemlike structure
 The stem of a moss plant.
 Capsule
 Contains spores for reproduction
 Stalk
 Holds up the capsule
o Know the difference between mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. See chart on page 92.
 Moss looks fuzzy, liverworts look like the human liver, hornworts are horn-like curved structures
 Moss and liverworts are found in moist areas on rocks, tree trunks, and soil. Hornworts are
found in moist soil mixed in with grass.
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What are the characteristics of seedless vascular plants?
o Seedless vascular plants have vascular tissue, and they do not produce seeds – instead they reproduce
by releasing spores.
o Be able to explain what vascular tissue is.
 Explain phloem.
 The vascular tissue through which food moves
 Explain xylem.
 The vascular tissue through which water moves.
o Be able to identify and describe the parts of a fern plant.
 Fronds
 The fern’s leaves
 Stem
 Most fern stems are underground
 Root
 The root grows downward from the underground stem
 Fiddlehead
 New, developing leaves of a fern plant – named after the top of a violin
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What are the characteristics of seed plants?
o Seed plants have vascular tissue, and they use pollen and seeds to reproduce.
 Explain what pollen is.
 Tiny structures that contain the cells that will later become sperm cells for a plant
 What is a seed?
 Structure that contains a young plant inside a protective covering
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What are gymnosperms?
 Seed plant that produces “naked seeds”
 Nicknamed “naked” because they are not enclosed by a protective fruit
What are angiosperms?
 Flowering plants that produce seeds that are enclosed in fruits
LESSON 3 – PLANT STRUCTURES
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ROOTS
o Be able to identify the parts of a root on a diagram.
o What is the function (job) of roots? There are 3 potential functions.
 Anchor a plant
 Absorb water and minerals from the soil
 Sometimes store food
o Be able to describe the two types of roots and give an example of each.
 Taproot
 One long, thick root with smaller roots branching off the main root
 Carrots, dandelions, cacti
 Fibrous root
 Dense, tangled mass of roots
 Grass, corn, onions
o Describe the function of the root cap.
 Protects the root from injury as the root grows through the soil
o Describe the function of root hairs.
 Tiny hairs that can enter the spaces between soil particles, where they absorb water and
minerals. They also help anchor the plant.
o What do the xylem and phloem tissues do in the root?
 Xylem absorb water and nutrients from the soil
 Phloem transports food manufactured in the leaves to the root. This food is stored for future
use.
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STEMS
o Be able to identify the parts of a stem on a diagram.
o What is the function (job) of stems? There are 3 potential functions.
 Carries substances between the plant’s roots and leaves
 Provides support for the plant
 Holds up leaves so they are exposed to the sun
o Be able to explain the difference between woody stems and herbaceous stems.
 Wood stems are hard and rigid – like maple trees
 Herbaceous stems are green and soft – like daisies, ivy, and asparagus
o Again, be able to explain the difference between phloem and xylem tissue.
 Again, phloem transports food, xylem transports water.
o Make sure you understand what the rings on a tree stump can tell us?
 How can you tell the age of a tree using the rings?
 Each pair of rings (2 – one light and one dark ring) counting from the center to the
outside edge equals one year.
 How can scientists learn about the weather in past years by looking at the rings?
 The thicker the ring is the more rain there would have been that year – represents the
tree growing more since more rain.
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Explain the difference between the light and dark rings.
 The light colored rings formed in the spring are usually wider because they grow rapidly,
and therefore they have thin cell walls.
 The dark colored rings form in the summer and are usually smaller because they grow
slowly, and therefore have thicker cell walls.
What does the difference thicknesses of the rings tell us?
 Differences in weather – the thicker the more rain
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LEAVES
o Be able to identify the parts of a leaf on a diagram.
o What is the function (job) of leaves?
 To capture the sun’s energy
 To carry out the food-making process of photosynthesis
 What are stomata?
 Small openings, or pores that open and close to control when gases enter and leave the
leaf.
 Describe photosynthesis.
 Chlorophyll (green pigment that traps energy from the sun) is contained in the
chloroplasts.
 Carbon dioxide enters the leaf through stoma.
 Water is absorbed by the roots and travels up the stem to the leaves through xylem.
 Sugar and oxygen are produced from the carbon dioxide and water. The plant gets rid
of the oxygen which we then use.
 The sugar enters the phloem and then travels through the plant.
 What makes up the vein of a leaf?
 Xylem and phloem tissues
 What is transpiration?
 The evaporation of water from the leaves of a plant
 How can leaves slow down transpiration?
 They close their stomata
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SEEDS
o Be able to identify the parts of a seed on a diagram.
o What is inside of a seed? – (embryo and food)
 Describe the embryo.
o The embryo has the beginnings of roots, stems, and leaves.
 What does the embryo live on while inside the seed?
o It lives on food stored inside the seed
 Cotyledons are “seed leaves” that are the first leaves of a plant which can also store food for the
embryo.
 What is the seed coat?
 The outer covering of the seed that acts like plastic wrap, protecting the embryo and its
food from drying out.
o What are some ways that seeds can become dispersed?
 Animals might eat fruit containing seeds – the seeds pass through the animal’s digestive system
and are deposited in new areas.
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Other seeds are enclosed in a barblike structure that hooks onto fur or clothing and deposited
elsewhere.
 Water and wind can also disperse seeds. The white part of dandelions contain seeds are are
dispersed by the wind when the white portion blows through the air.
 Other plants eject their seeds and the force scatters the seeds in many directions.
Why does a seed that is dispersed far from its parents have a better chance of surviving?
 Because then it does not have to compete with the parent plant for light, water, and nutrients.
What is germination? When does it begin?
 Germination occurs when the seed absorbs water. Then the embryo uses stored food to begin
to grow.
What grows first out of the seed? Then what?
 The roots first grow downward, then the stem and leaves begin to grow upward.
FLOWERS
o Be able to identify the parts of a flower on a diagram.
o What is the function (job) of a flower?
 reproduction
o What is pollination?
 The transfer of pollen from male reproductive structures to female reproductive structures.
o Name some pollinators.
 Pollinators include insects, birds, and bats that spread pollen from the stamen to the pistil.
o What are sepals?
 Leaf like structures that protect the developing flower.
o What are petals?
 Colorful part of the flower that attracts pollinators
o Describe the stamen and the parts that make up the stamen. What is made there? Where exactly is it
made?
 Male part of the flower. The stamen is made up of the filament and the anther.
 Filament
 Holds up the anther
 Anther
 Top part of the stamen that makes pollen
o Describe the pistil. What is the function (job) of the pistil?
 Female part of the flower – can have 1 or more pistils.
 Stigma
 Sticky top part of the pistil that pollen sticks to.
 Style
 Slender tube that connects the stigma to the hollow structure at the base of the flower.
 Ovary
 Hollow structure that protects the seeds as they develop.
LESSON 4
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The only thing you need to know from lesson 4:
o Be able to explain the difference between annuals, biennials, and perennials.
 Annuals must be replanted each year.
 Perennials are planted once, and come back on their own year after year.
 Biennials germinate and grow roots and very short stems and leaves the first year. The 2nd year
the stems get longer, they grow new leaves, and then produce flowers and seeds.
LESSON 5-6
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These lessons will not be on the test.