Plant Structures and Functions |
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In order to survive, plants need the basic resources necessary for life. |
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Food |
Water |
Sunlight |
Air |
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Plants have structures that help with obtaining the resources necessary for life. |
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Roots: |
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- Plant roots grow underground and take up water and minerals from the soil.
- Roots provide storage for sugars made by the leaves.
- They also help anchor the plant to prevent it from blowing over or washing away.
- Plants may either have a taproot system (one main root that grows downward with several smaller roots growing from the main root) or a fibrous root system (with many threadlike roots, all of which are about the same length).
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Roots
flickr – Science and Plants for Schools
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Root Systems
Wikimedia – Cassandra gonzales
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Leaves: |
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- Plants can make their own food using energy from sunlight through a process is called photosynthesis.
- Plant leaves convert water and carbon dioxide (a gas found in the air) into sugars called carbohydrates.
- The leaves also release oxygen (a gas found in the air) back into the environment as a result of the process.
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- At night, when sunlight is not available for plants to use, they undergo a process called cellular respiration.
- This is the process in which oxygen is used to break down carbohydrates.
- Carbon dioxide and water are released as a result of the process.
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Photosynthesis Diagram
Dreamstime
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Leaves
flickr – Live Once Live Wild
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Fern Frond
Dreamstime
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Stems: |
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- The stems provide support for the leaves and flowers.
- They also transport water and minerals throughout the plant.
- Stems can be herbaceous (soft and green) or woody, and they can be branched or unbranched.
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Herbaceous Stems
flickr – USFWS Midwest Region
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Woody Stems
flickr – Fredericy County Forestry Board
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Internal Structures: |
Stems and roots contain tubes for transporting water, minerals, and sugars throughout the plant.
- The xylem transports water from the roots to the stems and leaves.
- As water evaporates through the leaves, the roots take up more water from the soil. This process is called transpiration.
- Phloem transports sugars that were made during photosynthesis from the leaves to the roots and stems.
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Adobe Stock
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