Discover - Needs of a Plant

When you started the Explore – Growing Your Own Plant activity at the beginning of this section of the unit, you were asked to make a reasonable guess of what a plant needs to grow and survive.  In this activity, you will learn more about the needs of a plant.

 Notebook: What are the needs of a plant?

  1. Click here to download this activity.
  2. Complete the activity using the links provided (in the activity and below).
  3. Check your answers below. 
  4. Save your corrected work to your Plant Notebook.      
     

Activity Links:

 Check Your Answers

Requirement for Growth

Why?

Air

Plants use carbon dioxide in the air to go through photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process that produces oxygen for us to breathe.

Nutrients

Similar to humans, plants need nutrients to survive.  Nutrients allow the plant to grow, to repair damaged parts of the plant, to go through photosynthesis, etc.

Soil

Soil provides the nutrients that plants need to survive. Technically, it is not the soil that is required but the nutrients in the soil.  If the nutrients can be supplied in other ways, soil is not required.

Space

Plants need space to grow or they will get crowded and die.  With too many plants in one area, the competition increases for the resources that they need.  Therefore, all the needs of each plant might not be met.

Sunlight

For photosynthesis to occur, plants must have energy from the sun.  If a plant cannot go through photosynthesis, it cannot grow or survive.

Temperature

Each plant is adapted to grow at an ideal temperature that might be different than other plants need.  Without the optimal temperature, a plant cannot grow to the best of its abilities.

Water

Plants need water to germinate seeds, to allow new plants to break out of the seeds, to transport all the products through the plant, to get nutrients from its surroundings, and to perform photosynthesis.

Environmental  Connection

The Montreal Biodome is a unique museum that has established five ecosystems of the Americas.  With the exception of the Sub-Antarctic Islands ecosystem, all are based on the plant vegetation of the area.  Where did the Biodome need to start when these ecosystems were constructed?  To determine the unique needs of the plants of the ecosystem and to see how they could be met, visit the Montreal Biodome website.