Seed Detectives: What Does a Plant Really Need to Grow?
Science Lab · Grade 5 · ngss
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Type
science_lab
Pre Lab
Background: Every ecosystem depends on plants. Plants are **producers**. This means they make their own food. A plant uses energy from **sunlight**, **water** taken in through its roots, and a gas from the air called **carbon dioxide** to make sugar. The plant uses that sugar to grow and to stay alive. This process is called **photosynthesis**. Many people think plants "eat" soil to grow bigger. Scientists have found that most of a plant's new material actually comes from air and water!
So what does **soil** do? Soil holds the plant in place. It stores water. It also contains small amounts of **nutrients**, such as nitrogen. Plants need nutrients in tiny amounts, much like you need vitamins. Many of these nutrients come from **decomposers**, such as worms, fungi, and bacteria. Decomposers break down dead leaves, dead animals, and waste. They return that matter to the soil. Plants take it up again, animals eat the plants, and the cycle continues. This movement of matter through an ecosystem is called the **matter cycle**.
A **seed** holds a baby plant and a packet of stored food. When a seed gets the right conditions, it **germinates**, or sprouts. At first, it uses its stored food. Once the stored food is used up, the young plant must make its own food. In this lab, you will plan a **fair test** to find out which conditions seeds and young plants need. You will change only one condition at a time. You will also compare each group to a **control group** that gets everything we think a plant needs.
Vocabulary
Term: Producer
Definition: A living thing, like a plant, that makes its own food using energy from sunlight.
Term: Photosynthesis
Lab Type
Post Lab
Standards
Safety Level
Teacher Notes
Estimated Time
Experiment Design
Research Question
Learning Objectives
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