1. Plant structure

2. PLANT STRUCTURE: ROOTS TYPES & PARTS OF THE ROOT
Tap roots - is a single main root with smaller lateral roots growing from it
Adventitious roots – roots which grow straight out of the stem eg. Carillie
Fibrous roots – several main roots, which have lateral or side roots branching from them
At the very tip – the root cap which protects the root as it grows
A layer of cells called the epidermis
The root hairs

3. ROOT FUNCTIONS
a) take in water from the soil;
b) take in minerals;
c) store excess food;
d) transport water and food to other parts of the plant; and
e) hold or anchor the plant in the soil

4. HOW DOES ROOTS TRANSPORT WATER
Root hairs absorb water by osmosis
Osmosis is the movement of particles (in this case: water and minerals) from a region of high concentration to a region of low concentration
And the water moves up the root into the XYLEM vessels (it acts like capillary tube) because of a pressure difference
The pressure difference happens because water evaporates from the leaves at the top (so it makes a lower pressure)…this is called transpiration

5. WHAT MINERALS DO THE PLANT NEED?
ELEMENT
MINERAL SALT
WHY IS IT NEEDED
DEFICIENCY DISEASE
NITROGEN
Nitrates or as organic compounds from nitrogen fixing bacteria
To make proteins
Poor growth, yellow leaves
PHOSPHOROUS
Phosphates
To make energy (ATP)
Poor growth, especially of roots
POTASSIUM
Potassium salts
To keep correct salt balance for cells
Mottled leaves
SULPHUR
sulphates
MAGNESIUM
Magnesium salts
To make chlorophyll
Yellowing between veins of leaves
CALCIUM
Calcium salts
To make cell walls
Death of growing tips
IRON
Iron salts
To make chlorophyll; iron is not contained in chlorophyll, but it is needed for its manufacture
Yellowing in young leaves

6. HOW DOES THE ROOT TRANSPORT MINERALS
The minerals the plants need is dissolved in the water (in the form of ions)
Special carrier molecules in the cell membrane, gets (a lot of) energy from the mitochondia in the root hairs and carries the mineral ions from a lower concentration outside of the root to the inside of the root …called ACTIVE TRANSPORT

7. HOW ARE THE ROOTS USED TO STORE FOOD?
The plants stores food for use later on
Perennial plants are those that live from year to year, have modified roots (swollen) called Root Tubers such as cassava and sweet potato and
Swollen Tap Roots for Biennial plants (which take two years to complete their life) such as carrots, beets and radishes.

8. b) expose the leave to sunlight;
STEMS
a) support the plant;
b) expose the leave to sunlight;
c) transport food and water to other parts of the plant; and
d) sometimes, photosynthesis (food) is made in the stem

9. LEAVES a) take in carbon dioxide;
b) release oxygen (the exchange of gases.....taking carbon dioxide into the leaves and releasing oxygen out of the
leaf is referred to as respiration);
c) chlorophyll;
d) photosynthesis; and
e)take in energy from the sun

10. FLOWERS
a) Flowers perform sexual reproduction occurs for the formation offspring
Some plants reproduce using other parts of the plant like the stem (cassava), roots (ginger), etc. For home-work determine the special name for this type of reproducion and

11. ASSESSMENT
Fill in the blanks:
A root has a _ _ _ called a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ and _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.
There are 3 types of roots: _ _ _ roots, adventitious _ _ _ _ _ and _ _ _ _ _ _ _ roots.
Answer true (T) or false (F) for the following:
Plants take in water and minerals from the soil through its roots
Roots uses excess food
Leaves transport water and food to the roots
Roots hold or anchor the plant in the soil
Plants get minerals by a process called active transport
Answer the following:
Can plants store food for later on? If so give some examples of plants that store food in its roots.
Can plants be modified to produce root tubers earlier than one year for example? State any changes you know of.