Photosynthesis Drawing

What Do Plants Need?

Plant Nutrition

Friday 9, 2014

Plant Nutrition

Describe your experiment.

After learning about nutrients a plant needs for proper development, we were asked to conduct an experiment to test how a plant develops and survives with certain nutrients or a certain nutrient. We are currently using four phyllonthus fluitans plants each left in a cup with one essential nutrient or several essential onutrients missing. Our group choose to test a plants growth without nitrogen, a plants growth without potassium,  a plants growth without phosphorous and a plants growth without micro nutrients. All other necessary nutrients were supplied.

What did you learn?

I learned about...

Macronutrients- Macronutrients are necessary nutrients that a plant requires in large amounts. 

Primary macronutrients- are nitrogen,potassium and phosphorous. These are usually not found in adequate amounts in unfertilised soil.

Secondary macronutrients- arre calcium, magnesium and sulfur. The amount of the secondary macronutrients found in unfertilised soil is usually large enough to sustain a plant. 

Micronutrients- are nutrients that a plant requires in only small amounts. Micronutrients include copper, iron and chloride. 

Soil- Soil can largely affect the growth of a plant. Plants absorb most of their nutrients from soil. The right soil acidity and soil texture is necessary to sustain a plant.

EXPERIMENT RESULTS
1. No micronutrients
The plant which received no micronutrients produced two new leaves but the state of it's old leaves have deteriorated. One of it's leaves turned brown, died and fell way from the plant. The remaining old leaves are browning and riddled with holes

2. No Nitrogen 
The plant which received no nitrogen grew one new leaf. It's older leaves are browning at the edges. The plant appears to have split in two, with the new leaf on one plant with a browning leaf and one plant of several browning leaves. It appears to be doing the worst of all the plants.

3. No potassium
The plant which did not take in potassium s speckled with brown but has grown two new leaves and longer roots.the veins of the leaf appear a darker green.

4. No phosphorus 
The plant lacking phosphorus has grown two new leaves and  is old leaves are spotted with brown. However, it still seems to be the greenest and best-off of all the plants.

WHY DID THESE REACTIONS OCCUR?
Our plants, which lacked only one macro or all micronutrients began dying and generally doing very poorly, yet they still produced leaves. Also, other groups using distilled water with no nutrients showed what appeared a green, leafy and perfectly healthy plant. Theoretically, this is because the plants lacking nutrients did not recognise that they did not have the nutrients they needed to function normally, as they had most nutrients. Therefore, they continued using their nutrients to grow and maintain young leaves and develop normally. The plants in the distilled water recognised that they lacked nutrients as they did not need to identify that on specific nutrient was absent. They went into a kind of inactive hibernation, where they used as little nutrients as possible to adapt to their current states.

Plant Classification

Wednesday May 7, 2014

Plant Classification

      Every living thing can be categorised into groups based off of a series of shared qualities of traits. This is a process known as classifying. Today, we learned about plant classification. I discovered five groups which plants are divided into, and what traits define these groups:

Ferns- Ferns are flowerless, leafy plants which prefer warm, wet environments. The reproduce using spores. 

ex-bracken fern

Conifers- Conifers are usually narrow-leafed, and reproduce using seeds which are often found on cones. Conifers prefer drier climates. 

ex-Pine tree

Algae- Algae is found in water, and reproduces using spores. They lack roots and veins.

ex-seaweeds

Flowering Plants- Flowerings plants are plants that flower and reproduce using pollen.

ex-daises

Fungi/Mushrooms- Fungi and Mushrooms are not technically plants as their cell structure is different and they do not create their own food using photosynthesis. Fungi and mushrooms eat of decomposing matter or off of their host. They reproduce using spores.

ex-white mushrooms

Biology-Plants and Photosynthesis

Biology:Plants and Photosynthesis 

(Animals vs Plants)

Maya Nylund 7v

1.Differences between plants/animals

   Plants and animal cells differ structurally. Plants have a thick cell wall which is not found in animals, and plants depend on chloroplasts to use sun and carbon dioxide matter to perform photosynthesis. Plants and animals also take in different essential gases. While animals take in oxygen and give off carbon dioxide as a byproduct, plants take in carbon dioxide, which, using energy from the sun, they turn into sugar. Plants give off oxygen as a byproduct. Animals and plants function differently. While plants and are stationary animals can move. However, plants can grow indefinitely, and an animals growth is fixed. Also, animals have organ systems necessary for metabolic function and complex nerve systems which plants do not require. 

2.Compare plant and animal cells

http://www.painesville-township.k12.oh.us/userfiles/712/Classes/54908/Plant%20and%20animal%20VENN%20diagram.PNG

  As mentioned earlier, plants have a thick cell wall which animals do not, and chloroplasts/chlorophyl which they use to create their own food-a quality/structural cell element that animals do not have. Aside from that, most plants cells have central vacuoles which are not found in animals. The shape of a basic plant and animal cell is also different- plant cells tend to be more boxy or rectangular while animal cells tend to curve in a circular outline. Similarities include the presence of a nucleus, cytoplasm and a cell membrane.

     

3.Describe the function of following parts of a plant cell: Cell wall, cell membrane, nucleus, cytoplasm, vacuole, chloroplast.

 

Cell wall- Cell walls maintain and determine the the shape of a plant cell. Cell walls regulate plant cells under water pressure and during the progression of cell functions. They create physical barriers between cells and the outside, and allow growth and protection.

Cell membrane- Cell membranes are thin linings between cell walls and cytoplasm. They preserve the integrity of a plant cell by filtering and regulating what enters the interior of the cell. 

Nucleus- A nucleus contains the DNA of a plant cell. It also controls all of its functions by communicating with the surrounding cytoplasm using nuclear pores.

Cytoplasm-Cytoplasm suspends the other elements of the interior cell, therefore supporting it's interior structure. It maintains the shape and consistency of a cell. It stores essential chemicals used for cell function. 

Vacuole- The vacuole stores and isolates substances that may be harmful to a cell, and exports unwanted substances. It stores nutrients and food as well. It also maintains an acidic internal pH.

Chloroplast- Chloroplasts contain chlorophyl which is used to create sugar. They're function is to create necessary sugars and starches using photosynthesis- a process which uses carbon dioxide, solar energy and water to create food.