Plant Basic Needs

Core Content Biological Science SC-04-3.4.1 Students will: compare the different structures and functions of plants and animals that contribute to the growth, survival and reproduction of the organisms; make inferences about the relationship between structure and function in organisms.

Vocabulary Carbon dioxide – a gas breathed out by animals. Plants breath in Carbon dioxide. Nutrient – substances, such as minerals, that all living things need to grow. Photosynthesis – the process by which plants make their own food which takes place in the leaves of the plant.

Plant Basic Needs Plants need four things to survive. air (Carbon Dioxide) Nutrients Water light

Air Air contains the carbon dioxide plants need. Carbon dioxide is a gas breathed out by animals. Plants take in carbon dioxide through their leaves.

Nutrients Nutrients are substances, such as minerals, that all living things need in order to survive. Plants get nutrients from soil.

Water A plant gets water from rain. Some of the water is taken in through pores in the plant’s leaves, but most of it is taken in by the plant’s roots.

Light Though some plants tolerate shade, no plant can live in total darkness. Plants use light to make their own food through a process known as photosynthesis.

Photosynthesis Photosynthesis takes place in a plant’s leaves. Light is trapped by chlorophyll, the material that makes a leaf green. The energy from the light starts the food-making process. Without light, plants could not make the food they need to live and grow. Carbon dioxide and water are the two main materials that the plant uses to make food. The food the plant makes is sugar.

Photosynthesis, continued. During photosynthesis, the leaves take in carbon dioxide, and the roots take in water. The water travels through tubes in the stem tot the leaves. The leaves then use the energy from light to make sugar from the carbon dioxide and water. Oxygen is a waste product of photosynthesis. The leaves give off oxygen.

Review What are the basic needs of plants? What happens during photosynthesis and how does it help the plant survive?