1. How are plants adapted to growth? Different parts of a plant are adapted to assist its growth and survival. Flowers are adapted to enable reproduction. Stems support the plant and transport nutrients. Leaves are adapted for photosynthesis, which makes materials for growth. Roots anchor the plant to the ground. They also take up water and minerals from the soil.

2. How tall can plants grow? The tallest known plants are the Coast Redwoods, found in the USA. These grow to over 100 metres tall. That’s twice the height of Nelson’s column! The tallest native European tree is the Caucasian Fir, which can reach a height of 68 metres. Eucalyptus trees imported from Australia to Spain have been known to grow to a height of 80 metres.

3. How big can plants grow? The Giant Sequoia, Sequoiadendron giganteum, does not grow as tall as the Coast Redwood but it has a larger volume. The largest, General Sherman, has a volume of almost 1,500 m 3, about half the volume of an Olympic swimming pool.

4. What is the oldest plant in the world? Bristlecone pines, found in the USA, are the oldest-known plants. They can live for over 4,000 years. Unlike animal cells, there is no limit to the number of times plant cells can divide and multiply. It is common for trees to live for 100 years but rare for animals to live this long. Why? Plant cells can differentiate to form specific cells throughout the plant’s life. Animal cells lose this ability early in their life cycle.

5. What do plants need to grow? This plant hasn’t been looked after very well. What do plants need to grow healthily? sunlight and an air supply water mineral nutrients. If a plant cannot get these from its environment, can it move to somewhere else? Plants are rooted to one place. However, they can control their direction of growth.

6. What controls plant growth? Plants grow in response to their environment. The shoots of these tulips grow upwards and the roots grow downwards. To what environmental factors do plants respond to make sure they grow properly? If a plant was unable to do this it might not be able to get enough water or sunlight from its environment.

7. What do plants respond to? Plants are very sensitive and their growth is affected by their environmental conditions. Any condition that affects plant growth is called a stimulus. lightwatergravity Which stimulus will have the strongest effect on the plant? What are three types of stimuli that plants respond to?

8. A tropism is a growth movement in response to a stimulus. Plants grow towards or away from stimuli. A growth movement towards a stimulus is called a positive tropism. A growth movement away from a stimulus is called a negative tropism. What is a tropism? Will all the parts of a plant respond to a stimulus in the same way? What is growth away from a stimulus called?

9. Plant responses to stimuli are given specific names: What do the names of each tropism mean? watergravitylight hydrotropismgeotropismphototropism Which parts of a plant respond to these different stimuli? Are there different types of tropisms?

10. How do tropisms affect growth? This plant does not have a very straight stem. What might have caused this? The shoots of plants grow towards sunlight. The plant was placed on a window sill and received light from one direction only. What is the name of this type of plant response? The response to sunlight is called phototropism.

11. Do plants have hormones too? The growth of shoots and roots is controlled by a group of hormones called auxins. These chemicals are produced in the tips of the shoots and roots. Like humans, plants use hormones, (chemical messengers) to control their development. Hormones produced by plants control growth, flowering and fruit ripening. What environmental stimuli might cause a plant to produce auxins?

12. Which way up? How do plants always grow the right way up? Plants respond to gravity to grow in the right direction.

13. Roots always grow towards water, which is a positive tropism. Roots will grow sideways, or even upwards, towards water. Roots always have a stronger response to water than gravity to ensure that a plant gets the water it needs. How do roots respond to water?

14. How do roots and shoots respond to stimuli? Shoots grow towards sunlight. They are positively phototropic. Plant stimuli affect certain parts of the plant in different ways. Shoots grow away from gravity. They are negatively geotropic. Roots grow away from sunlight. They are negatively phototropic. Roots grow towards gravity. They are positively geotropic. What experiments can be used to test these ideas?