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The Wonderful World of Plants

A Science A–Z Life Series

Word Count: 957

The Wonderful World of Plants

Written by Ron Fridell

www.sciencea-z.com

Key elements Used in this BooKthe Big idea: Our world is full of plants. Plants have parts, and each part has a function. Plants survive through the processes of photosynthesis, pollination, fertilization, seed dispersal, and germination. Plants and animals rely on each other. People use plants for both food and materials. Without plants, animals—including humans—could not survive.

Key words: carbon dioxide, cone, flower, fruit, leaves, materials, minerals, oxygen, photosynthesis, pistil, plants, pollen, pollination, reproduce, roots, seed, seedling, soil, sprout, stamen, stem, stomata, vegetable, water vapor

Key comprehension skill: Main idea and detailsOther suitable comprehension skills: Compare and contrast; classify information; cause and effect; identify facts; elements of a genre; interpret graphs, charts, and diagrams

Key reading strategy: Ask and answer questionsOther suitable reading strategies: Connect to prior knowledge; summarize; visualize; retell

The Wonderful World of Plants © Learning A–Z Written by Ron Fridell

All rights reserved.

www.sciencea-z.com

Written by Ron Fridell

www.sciencea-z.com

The Wonderful World of Plants

Photo Credits: © iStockphoto.com: Front cover/Andrey Armyagov; title page/Brian Rogers; page 3/Ling Xia; page 4/Mariya Bibikova; page 5 (top left)/Dimitrije Tanaskovic; page 5 (top right)/mammamaart; page 5 (middle)/kevdog818; page 5 (bottom left, cactus)/Thomas Vogel; page 5 (bottom left, field)/P Wei; page 7 (top left)/AVTG; page 7 (top right)/Jolanta Dabrowska; page 7 (bottom left)/Denis Pogostin; page 7 (bottom right):/Nancy Louie; page 8 (top)/fajean; page 8 (bottom)/airportrait; page 9 (top)/Julie Macpherson; page 9 (bottom)/Dominik Pabis; page 10 (sunflower), page 11 (left)/redmal; page 11 (middle)/Yen-Hung Wang; page 12 (top)/Dinamir Predov; page 13 (top left)/Christian Misje; page 13 (bottom left)/Harry Howard; page 14 (top)/Lachlan Currie; page 14 (bottom left)/Alena Brozova; page 14 (bottom right)/JamesWhittaker; page 15/Barney boogles; page 16 (top left)/Oscar Schnell; page 16 (top right)/Catharina van den Dikkenberg; page 16 (bottom right)/Prill Mediendesign & Fotografie; page 17 (top)/Laura Cebulski; page 17 (middle)/Jason Lugo; page 17 (bottom)/Darinburt; page 18 (sweet potatoes)/Joe Biafore; page 18 (asparagus)/Alasdair Thomson; page 18 (broccoli)/motorolka; page 18 (spinach)/Asli Barcin; page 19 (top)/Tomas Bercic; page 19 (bottom)/Sean Locke; page 20 (crayons)/Creativeye99; page 20 (clothes)/Özgür Donmaz; page 20 (box)/Danny Smythe; page 20 (table)/Geoffrey Holman; page 20 (oil), page 21 (soap)/DNY59; page 21 (pills)/Andrew Soundarajan; page 21 (rope)/Zoran Kolundzija; page 21 (paint can)/John Holst; page 21 (gum balls)/Jerome Skiba; page 22 (left)/Jodi Jacobson; page 22 (middle)/Robert Rushton; page 22 (right)/Charles Schug; © PhotoEdit: back cover/Jim West; ©123RF: page 11 (right)/Olena Yelahina; page 19 (middle)/Liliya Drifan; © Jupiterimages Corp.: page 5 (bottom right), page 21 (monkey); © Photo Researchers, Inc.: page 13 (top right)/Scott Camazine, (bottom right)/Gregory G. Dimijian, M.D.; © Dreamstime.com: page 20 (houses)/Bruce Shippee, (coal)/Indos82

Illustration Credits: pages 6, 10 (sun), 12 (bottom): Cende Hill/© Learning A–Z

3

Introduction

A family is going

out for dinner.

The kids put on

clean clothes.

They go to the restaurant. Mom

parks the car under a tree. Inside,

everyone sits at a wooden table.

Their dinner includes potatoes and

fresh vegetables. Dad takes the

leftovers home in a cardboard box.

Think about the clothes, tree, table,

food, and box. What do they have in

common? They all come from plants!

You see plants almost everywhere.

You also use plants in many ways.

4

Table of Contents

Introduction ..........................................4

The Parts of a Plant ..............................6

How Plants Make Food .......................9

How Plants Reproduce ...................... 11

Plants Live Everywhere ....................15

Plants and Animals ............................16

Plants and You ....................................17

Using Plants for Food .....................18

Using Plants for Materials .............20

Conclusion ..........................................22

Glossary ...............................................23

Index ....................................................24

leaf

stem

root

The Parts of a Plant

Most plants

have the same

parts. They have

roots, stems, and

leaves. Each part

helps the plant

get what it

needs to live.

Roots usually grow down into

the soil. Roots hold most plants

in place. They help a plant stand

tall. Roots also store water and

food for the plant.

Roots take in water and minerals

from the soil. Plants need minerals

to grow and be healthy.

In this book, you will learn about

plants and their parts. You will learn

what plants need in order to live. You

will find out how plants get food and

how seeds grow. You will also learn

why animals and plants need each

other so much.5 6

The stem holds up the leaves

so they can get sunlight. The stem

carries water and minerals from the

roots to all parts of the plant. Stems

can also store water and food.

7 8

Tree trunks are stems. The vines of strawberry and pumpkin plants are stems, too.

Leaves grow above the ground

where there is light. They need light

to make food for the plant. Leaves

are usually flat. The flat shape helps

them catch sunlight.

Leaves come in many shapes and sizes.

Look carefully at a leaf. Are the edges smooth, wavy, or shaped like a saw? Is the tip pointy or round? Does it feel smooth, rough, or bumpy? Does it feel sticky, hairy, or waxy?

Stems can be hard or soft, thick or thin, and long or short.

How Plants Make Food

Plants need food in order to grow.

But plants do not eat. Plants make

their own food. This process is called

photosynthesis. Plants need three

things for photosynthesis to happen.

They need water, air, and light.

Leaves take in air through tiny holes.

Air has a gas called carbon dioxide

in it. The Sun’s light

helps mix carbon

dioxide with water

to make a kind of

sugar. Plants use the

sugar to grow. They

store extra sugar in

their roots, stems,

and leaves.9 10

As plants make food, they also

make a gas called oxygen. Plants

give off oxygen through their

leaves. All animals need this

oxygen to live and breathe. Plants

also give off water vapor through

their leaves. Water vapor is water

in the form of a gas.Stomata are tiny holes that let gases in and out of leaves.

stomata

Photosynthesis

1. Roots take in water from the soil.

2. Leaves take in carbon dioxide and sunlight.

3. Sunlight makes water and carbon dioxide combine into sugar, which is the plant’s food.

4. Unused food is stored in many plant parts.

5. Oxygen and water vapor exit the leaves as waste.

4

1

3

5

2

11 12

How Plants Reproduce

Palm trees make new palm trees.

Tomato plants make new tomato

plants. Each kind of plant must

make more plants just like it.

If plants do not reproduce, that

kind of plant will die out.

Most plants reproduce by making

seeds. Seeds can grow into new

plants. These plants are like the

plant that made the seeds.

Flowers are the plant

parts where most

seeds grow. Flowers

make tiny grains of

pollen. The pollen is

carried by the wind or by animals

such as bees, bats, and birds.

Pollen from one flower sticks to

another flower on the same kind

of plant. This process is called

pollination. When pollination

works, seeds will form.A B C

A bean seed (A) grows into a bean plant (B), which makes more seeds (C).

pollen

stamenpetal

POLLINATION

Pollen moves from a stamen to a pistil. Pollen can move to a pistil on the same flower or another flower.

pistil

13 14

Many seeds fall to the ground and

begin to grow. But some seeds

travel far before they start to grow.

They may blow in the wind. They

may float on water. They may stick

to an animal’s fur. They may even

pass through an animal’s body after

it eats them. Then the seeds end up

in a new place.

How Seeds Travel

A seed will sprout when it has air,

water, and warmth. The tiny plant

that grows from a seed is called a

seedling. It can grow into a full-sized

plant that will make new seeds.

One day, those seeds will become

new plants, which will grow and

make more seeds.

15 16

Plants Live Everywhere

Plants live almost everywhere. They

grow inside and outside. They grow

in rainforests and deserts. They grow

on mountains and in the ocean.

Plants grow anywhere they can get

what they need. Plants and Animals

Plants and animals need each other

in order to live. You have learned

that animals use plants for food and

oxygen. Look at these pictures of

other ways in which animals use

plants. Then try to think of more

ways in which animals use plants.

Plants need animals, too. Plants take

in carbon dioxide to make food. The

carbon dioxide comes from animals

every time they breathe out.

WheRe PLANTS GROW

Look at this map. Why do you think more plants grow in the green areas than in any other regions?

Key gets a lot of precipitation

gets moderate precipitation

gets little precipitation

gets little or no precipitation

17 18

Plants and You

People around the world need

plants. They eat parts of wild plants.

They eat food that is grown on farms.

They also use plant parts as materials

to make many things.

Using Plants for Food

Much of the food you eat comes

from plants. You eat the fruit of

many plants. Grapes, apples,

oranges, and peaches are all fruits.

They hold the plant’s seeds.

Tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash

also hold their plant’s seeds. They

are the fruit of their plants, too. But

you eat them as vegetables.

You eat other plant parts, too.

• Sweet potatoes and yams are big roots.

• The part of asparagus that you eat is the stem.

• The tops of broccoli are flowers that haven’t opened yet.

• Lettuce, spinach, and collard greens are leaves.

Some people gather wild berries to eat or sell.

Loggers cut down trees to be used for paper, fabric, and building materials.

Farmers grow crops and prepare them to be shipped to customers.

19 20

In a way, even meat comes from

plants. Many animals eat plants. The

food inside the plants gets passed to

those animals.

Many other animals do not eat plants.

They eat animals that ate plants. The

food from the plants moves from one

animal to the next one.

Using Plants for Materials

Plants provide you with many

materials. Look at the pictures

below to think about some of the

materials you get from plants.

Clothes

Crayons

Wooden furniture

Paper and cardboard

Coal and oil

homes and buildings

21 22

Many medicines are

made from plants. All

of the things below can

be made from plants, too.

Conclusion

Plants grow all over the world.

They are very important to people.

A lot of our food comes from plants.

We also use plants for materials.

They give us the oxygen we need to

breathe. Without plants, people and

other animals could not survive.

Which items do you see around you that

come from plants? What are the other things made of?

Plants also add beauty to our lives.

Plants come in many shapes and

sizes. They have many colors and

patterns. Earth has giant forests and

beautiful flowers. Our world really

is a wonderful world of plants.

23 24

Glossary

materials any kinds of physical substances that are used to make things (p. 17)

minerals nutrients from nonliving things that are required in small amounts for health and normal growth (p. 6)

photosynthesis the process by which plants turn energy from the Sun into food (p. 9)

plants living things that make their own food from sunlight and do not move from place to place on their own (p. 4)

pollen small grains that develop on stamens and can stick to pistils, pollinating flowers (p. 12)

pollination the transfer of pollen from flower to flower for the purpose of making a new plant (p. 12)

reproduce to make offspring that are similar to the original living thing (p. 11)

seedling a young, developing plant that has grown from a seed (p. 14)

Index

photosynthesis, 9, 10

pollination, 12

reproduction, 11–14