Plants
Plants are very important living things. They have lots of jobs, such as providing animals with food and releasing oxygen into the air. To survive and carry out these jobs, they all need three important parts:
- roots
- leaves
- stem
This guide will look more closely at the structure of plants.
Watch: A plant's structure
The parts of a plant and their jobs
All plants have similar parts and each of these has a different job.
Roots | Take up water and nutrientA substance needed by an organism to stay alive and healthy. For example, carbohydrates, proteins and lipids. from the soil. The roots also keep the plant steady and upright in the soil. |
Stem | Carries water and nutrients to different parts of the plant. The stem of a tree is called its trunk. This often divides into smaller branches. |
Leaves | Use light from the Sun, along with carbon dioxideA gas that is naturally present in the atmosphere and a greenhouse gas. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and humans breathe it out. from the air and water to make food for the plant. This process is called photosynthesis. |
Flowers | Are involved in plant reproduction and produce seeds from which new plants grow. |
Activity 1: Parts of the plant
Activity 2: Structure of a plant quiz
Activity 3: Identifying and describing plants
Next time you're in your garden, local park or school playing field:
- identify as many different plants as you can
- draw a picture of each plant that you see
- explain how they are similar and the differences that they have
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