Plants and Animals

Questions E. How are plants and animals similar and different? U1. What do we know about plants? A. What is a plant? B. What do they look like? U2. What do we know about animals? A. What is an animal? B. What do they look like? U3. How are plants and animals similar? A. How do they act alike? B. How do they look alike? U4. How are plants and animals different? A. How do they act different? B. How do they look different?

What is a plant? A plant is a living, breathing thing that requires water, light, food, and oxygen in order to grow and survive.

Seeds Seeds are a plant's way of getting from one area to another by either wind, water, or animals.

Roots The roots help provide support by anchoring the plant and absorbing water and nutrients needed for growth. They can also store sugars and carbohydrates that the plant uses to carry out other functions. Plants can have either a taproot system (such as carrots) or a fibrous root system (such as turf grass). In both cases, the roots carry the water and nutrients needed for plants to grow.

Stems Stems carry water and nutrients taken up by the roots to the leaves. Then the food produced by the leaves moves to other parts of the plant. Stems also provide support for the plant allowing the leaves to reach the sunlight that they need to produce food.

Leaves Leaves are the food making factories of green plants. Leaves come in many different shapes and sizes. Leaves can be simple. They are made of a single leaf blade connected by a petiole to the stem. – An oak leaf and a maple leaf are examples. A compound leaf is a leaf made up of separate leaflets attached by a petiole to the stem like an ash or a locust.

Leaves and Photosynthesis 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. A green plant helped make the oxygen you are breathing today.

Flowers Flowers not only look pretty but, in fact, are important in making seeds. Flowers have some basic parts. The female part is the pistil. The pistil usually is located in the center of the flower and is made up of three parts: the stigma, style, and ovary. The stigma is the sticky knob at the top of the pistil. It is attached to the long, tube-like structure called the style. The style leads to the ovary that contains the female egg cells called ovules.

Flowers The male parts are called stamens and usually surround the pistil. stamens The stamen is made up of two parts: the anther and filament.anther filament The anther produces pollen (male reproductive cells). The filament holds the anther up.

Fertilization During the process of fertilization, pollen lands on the stigma, a tube grows down the style and enters the ovary. Male reproductive cells travel down the tube and join with the ovule, fertilizing it. The fertilized ovule becomes the seed, and the ovary becomes the fruit.

Our K-W-L Chart What we Know about plants Plants need water Plants need soil Plants need light What we Wonder about plants How much water is too much? Too little? How do soils differ? How much light? What kind of light? How do plants eat? How do plants grow? What we Learned about plants help us breathe give us shade are homes for animals are pretty to look at give us compost give animals food give us food

What is an animal? An animal is a living, breathing thing that requires water, light, food, and oxygen in order to grow and survive.

Are there different kinds? There are several different kinds of animals. There are several different types of animals. There are several species. – Mammals – Birds – Reptiles – Amphibians – Fish In each different species, there are several different animals and several extensions of the same or similar animals.

Mammals What are they? – Humans, kangaroos, anteaters, bats, monkeys, foxes, etc. What do they look like? – Warm-blooded vertebrates with hair or fur – Have mammary glands to produce milk Where do they live? – Occupy all continents – Can live on land, below ground, in trees, in the air, in salt and fresh water

Birds What are they? – Penguins, pelicans, flamingos, ducks, parrots, etc. What do they look like? – All birds are covered with feathers but not all fly – All birds hatch from wings – All birds have two wings and two feet – Warm-blooded (endothermic) vertebrates Where do they live? – Nomadic and move depending on weather and food

Reptiles What are they? – Crocodiles, lizards, snakes, turtles, etc. What do they look like? – Cold-blooded animals – Backbone – Tough skin with a covering of skills – Lungs for breathing – Most lay eggs, some give live birth

Amphibians What are they? – Frogs, salamanders, newts, etc. – “double life” What do they look like? – Cold-blooded vertebrates – Moist skin without scales – Lay jelly-covered eggs or give live birth Where do they live? – Begins in water with gills but changes into a terrestrial adult through metamorphosis

Fish What are they? – Sharks, rays, gars, tarpons, eels, etc. What do they look like? – Backboned – Largest group of vertebrates – Breath using gills – Body covered with scales – Cold-blooded – 2 chamber hearts and manuever using fins Where do they live? – In water

Invertebrates What are they? – Frogs, salamanders, newts, etc. – More than 95% of all species – More than 30 types, including sponges What do they look like? – Backbone, no bones, no cartilage Where do they live? – All areas but mostly in the oceans

Our K-W-L Chart What we Know about animals need food like us are pretty to look at give us food eat plants What we Wonder about animals what do they like to eat how often do they sleep What we Learned about animals living, breathing organisms that need oxygen, water, food, and light to survive have a respiratory system

Similarities There are several different types of both. They both need water, oxygen, light, and food to survive. They all require attention of some sort- from mother to cub or gardener to plant. Both plants and animals move. Both plants and animals have circulatory systems.

Differences Plants Plants have stems and leaves. Plants photosynthesize. Plants move to the wind. Animals Animals have legs. Animals hunt and kill food. Animals have legs. Animals move with their legs.