Year 8 Science · Unit 1 · Lesson 7
Foundation Worksheet
Learning Goals
Fill the gap
Choose the correct word from the word bank. Two words will not be used.
A plant takes in water and dissolved from the soil through its . The connects the roots to the leaves and helps move water upward. In the , some water is used by cells and some is to the air. A plant does all of this without a or blood.
Put the water’s journey in order
Number the steps from 1 (first) to 5 (last).
| Step (1–5) | What happens to the water |
|---|---|
| Water reaches the leaves, and some is used by the leaf cells. | |
| Water enters the roots. | |
| Water evaporates from the leaves into the air. | |
| Water is held in the damp soil around the roots. | |
| Water moves up through the stem. |
Sort it
Write each job in the box for the plant part that does it. Each box gets exactly two jobs.
Roots
Stem
Leaves
1. A student says the stem is “just a stick that holds the plant up”. Use one of the jobs above to explain why this is incomplete.
Read the data
Scenario: a thirsty basil plant
Mia forgot to water her pot of basil for four days, and its main stem flopped over. She poured water onto the soil only, not onto the leaves. She then measured the angle between the main stem and upright (0° means standing straight up).
| Time after watering (min) | 0 | 10 | 20 | 40 | 60 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angle from upright (°) | 70 | 58 | 40 | 15 | 5 |
Source: sample results.
2. What was the angle 20 minutes after watering? By how many degrees did the angle change from 0 to 60 minutes?
Change degrees
3. Describe what happened to the basil stem over the hour.
4. Predict the angle at 80 minutes. Give a reason based on the pattern in Table 1.
5. Mia only watered the soil, yet the leaves and stem firmed up. Explain how the water got to them. Use the words roots, stem and leaves.
6. A potted lemon tree stands on a sunny balcony. On a very hot afternoon its leaves droop, even though the soil in the pot is still moist. By evening the leaves have recovered. Explain why the leaves drooped and why they recovered. Use the ideas of uptake, transport and loss.
Fill the gap
minerals; roots; stem; leaves; lost; heart. Not used (2): flowers, seeds.
Put the water’s journey in order
Reading down the table as printed: 4, 2, 5, 1, 3.
Sort it
Roots: takes in water from the soil; takes in dissolved minerals. Stem: carries water up towards the leaves; holds the leaves up towards the light. Leaves: uses water to make food; place where water evaporates into the air.
1. The stem does hold the plant up, but it also connects the roots to the leaves and carries water and dissolved minerals up to them, so it is an active part of transport. [2 marks: 1 support is only part, 1 transport job]
Read the data
2. 40°. Change = 70 − 5 = 65 degrees. [2 marks]
3. The stem straightened after watering: the angle fell from 70° to 5°, so by 60 minutes it was almost upright. [2 marks: 1 trend, 1 data quoted]
4. About 0° to 5° (accept 0–5). The change was slowing (only 10° in the last 20 minutes) and the stem was already nearly upright, so it cannot straighten much more. [2 marks: 1 value, 1 reason]
5. The roots took in the water from the damp soil. The water moved up through the stem, which connects the roots to the leaves. It reached the leaves and the stem tissues, refilling the cells so they firmed up. [3 marks: roots uptake; stem transport; reaches leaves and cells firm up]
Show What You Know
6. Marking guide: 1 for uptake (roots take in water from the moist soil); 1 for transport (water moves up the stem to the leaves); 1 for loss (on the hot afternoon the leaves lost water to the air much faster than usual); 1 for comparing rates (water was lost faster than the roots and stem could replace it, so leaf cells went soft and drooped); 1 for recovery (in the cooler evening less water is lost, so uptake catches up and the leaves refill). Model answer: The roots take in water from the moist soil and the stem carries it to the leaves. On the hot afternoon the leaves lost water faster than it could be replaced, so the leaf cells lost water and drooped. In the cooler evening less water is lost, supply catches up and the leaves firm up. [5 marks]
Common error to watch for: “the soil dried out”. The soil was moist; the problem was that loss from the leaves was faster than supply from the roots.