Lesson 2.2 - Storing Plant Food

Plants use the process of photosynthesis to produce food.  Where does a plant store its extra food?  All plants have some energy in all the cells, but plants must store food for use when photosynthesis is not possible.  Plants must also store some food for their offspring.  Plants store food in various places. 

Read Storing Plant Food on page 184 to find out where plants store food.

Question 1. Which plants store food in their stem?

Question 2. Which plants store food in their roots?

Question 3. Which plants store food in their leaves?

Question 4. Which plants store food in their flowers?

Question 5. Which plants store food in their fruit?

Question 6. Which plants store food in their seeds?

Then, return here to continue this lesson.

 

 

 

 

 

You may have a misconception from the reading that must be cleared up. 

The reading says, "Any food that the plant does not immediately use is stored for later use - for times of stress or cloudy days."  This does not apply to fruits and seeds; the plant producing the fruit or seed does not use that food itself.  The seeds use the stored food to grow until the young plants can produce their own energy.  The fruit is part of the mechanism that the plant uses to spread its seeds far from the parent plant.  An animal eats the fruit, the seeds in the fruit pass through the digestive system of the animal, and the seeds start to grow wherever the feces are dropped.

Question 7. When a chokecherry tree makes chokecherries, is the food that is stored in the chokecherry used by the plant or by the seed?

Question 8. Where is the food that is needed by the young plant growing from the chokecherry seed stored?

Then, return here to continue this lesson.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Answers to Questions:

Question 1. Which plants store food in their stem?

Sugar cane and celery store food in their stem.  Can you think of any other plants that do this?

Question 2. Which plants store food in their roots?

Carrots and beets store food in their roots.

Question 3. Which plants store food in their leaves?

Lettuce, spinach, and cabbage store food in their leaves.

Question 4. Which plants store food in their flowers?

Broccoli and cauliflower store food in their flowers.

Question 5. Which plants store food in their fruit?

Apples and tomatoes store food in their fruit.  You can probably think of many other examples.

Question 6. Which plants store food in their seeds?

All plants store food in their seeds.  Some have more food stored than others.  The food is needed by the young plant until it can grow enough to produce its own food.

 

 

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Answers to Questions:

Question 7. When a chokecherry tree makes chokecherries, is the food that is stored in the chokecherry used by the plant or by the seed?

The food stored in the fruit of the chokecherry is not used by the plant or the seed.  The seed is inside the pit of the chokecherry.  The chokecherry fruit is eaten by animals and birds, and the pit passes through the digestive system unharmed.  When the animal or bird passes the waste from the digestive system, the seed will start to grow when conditions are right.  There is enough food stored in the pit to start a new chokecherry plant.

Question 8. Where is the food that needed by the young plant growing from the chokecherry seed stored?

The food needed by the young plant is stored in the pit of the chokecherry fruit.

 


Go to the next page to continue Lesson 2.