Download • There are seven basic requirements that plants need in order to

Plants and light
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There are seven basic requirements that plants need in
order to grow properly: temperature, light, water, air,
nutrients, time, and room to grow.
Plants can be grown both indoors and outdoors for food,
shelter, clothing, medicine, energy, and pleasure.
Leaves are made to catch light and have
openings to allow water and air to come
and go. The outer surface of the leaf has
a waxy coating called a cuticle which
protects the leaf. Veins carry water and
nutrients within the leaf.
Leaves are the site of the food making
process called photosynthesis. In this
process, carbon dioxide and water in the presence of chlorophyll
(the green pigment) and light energy are changed into glucose (a
sugar). This energy rich sugar is the source of food used by
most plants.
Photosynthesis is unique to green plants! Photosynthesis supplies
food for the plant and oxygen for other forms of life.
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A green plant helped make the oxygen you are breathing today
Put a plant in a dark cupboard.
What happens?
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Seed growth
Plenty of light and water
Leaves develop
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Flowers bloom
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R OOTS
Most green plants have underground roots.
The roots hold the plants in the ground and take in nutrients and
water.
Some roots are swollen and contain food.
Roots grow down because of gravity.
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Different types of plants have different kinds of roots.
Plants that grow in ponds have roots.
Some plants have roots that are long and thick.
These roots normally grow straight down into the soil.
Dandelions have roots like this.
The roots of trees grow down into the ground
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The roots of the tree spread out around as the tree grows.
Some plants store food in their roots.
These are roots that we eat.
Turnips and carrots are types of roots we eat.
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Growing Plants Indoors
Light
Plants grown indoors like bright light. Windows facing the south
or west have the best light. Try to place the
plants close to the window to take advantage of
all the light. The further away from the window,
the darker it becomes. A plant will tell you when
it isn't getting enough light, because its stems
will be thin and it will lean toward the light. If
you don't have a bright window, try using grow
lights. Remember to have the light about six
inches above the plants and leave it on for 1416 hours each day
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