UNIT 4 - PLANT GROWTH AND NUTRITION

PARTS OF PLANTS

Plants have roots, a stem and leaves:

Roots anchor plants to the ground. They absorb water and minerals from
the soil.
The stem holds up the plant and transports water and other substances
from the roots to the leaves.
Leaves are the organs of the plant that perform photosynthesis
What do plants need to grow?
Plants are living things, so they need food.
Food provides plants with nutrients and energy.
Plants make their own food so plants need:
1. Light: all plants need sunlight to make their own food (varies from plant to plant).
2. Water: all plants need water to make their own food (varies from plant to plant).
3. Air: the air we breathe is a mixture pf gases, mainly nitrogen and oxigen, also carbon dioxide.
Plants take in carbon dioxide to make their food.

4. Mineral Salts: plants take in mineral salts (dissolved in water) from the soil through their roots:
Fertile soil is humid and rich in mineral salts.
Poor soil is dry and has a low mineral salt content.
 Plants and temperature

Plants also need the right temperatures to live.

MOST PLANTS need mild temperatures to grow. Others grow in extreme cold or extreme hot
temperatures (this is why there is little vegetation at the top of mountains or in deserts):

Fir trees (abetos) live in mountainous areas with low temperatures.

Beech trees (hayas) grow in places with mild temperatures.

Palm trees (palmeras) grow in places with high temperatures.

Other plants: Elm trees (olmos), poplar trees (chopos), willows (sauces), water buttercups (botn de
oro), reeds and bulrushes (caas y juncos), rosemary bushes (romero), lavander (lavanda),

moss (musgo)
Plant nutrition
A. Plants take in substances from the soil and the air.
B. Plants make their own food using sunlight.
C. Nutrients are transported inside plants.
D. Plants take in oxygen through respiration.

A. PLANTS TAKE IN SUBSTANCES

Plants absorb water and minerals from the soil through the roots.
The mixture of water and mineral salts is called raw sap.
Raw sap travels up the stem to the leaves through tubes called xylem vessels.
Plants take in carbon dioxide through tiny openings, called stomata, located in the leaves.
B. PLANTS MAKE THEIR OWN FOOD

Raw sap combines with carbon dioxide and transforms into elaborated sap through PHOTOSYNTHESIS.

raw sap + carbon dioxide photosynthesis elaborated sap

PHOTOSYNTHESIS needs sunlight, which is trapped by a green substance

called chlorophyll.
During photosynthesis, oxygen is released through the stomata.

C. NUTRIENTS ARE TRANSPORTED

Elaborated sap es distributed from the green parts to all parts
of the plant through tubes called phloem vessels.
The non-green parts of the plant cant carry out photosynthesis
so they get their nutrients from elaborated sap.
D. PLANT RESPIRATION
Plants take in oxigen and release carbon dioxide through a process called respiration.
Respiration takes place through the stomata.
Plants combine oxygen with nutrients to produce energy for growth.

IMPORTANT:

Through photosynthesis plants

Through respiration plants
take in carbon dioxide
take in oxygen
and
and
release oxygen
release carbon dioxide
during the day.
day and night.