what are plants? classworkcontent.njctl.org/courses/science/2nd-grade... · nd2 grade psi plants...

www.njctl.org 2nd Grade PSI Plants

What are plants? Classwork Name: __________________________

2nd Grade PSI

The pictures show a flower called a cosmos and two giraffes.

1. Describe one way that the cosmos and the giraffes are similar. ______________________________________

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2. Describe two ways that the cosmos and the giraffes are different. ______________________________________

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What are plants? Homework Name: __________________________

2nd Grade PSI

The cougar is a carnivore that can live in almost any habitat. It can live in forests, canyons or deserts. Cougars are large cats that can weigh up to 100 kilograms (220 pounds). Although cougars are carnivores, they are not picky about what they eat. Cougars are known to eat anything from deer to porcupine and even insects! Most of the animals that cougars eat are herbivores, meaning that they eat only plants. Cougars are silent hunters. They stalk their prey and then leap on them very suddenly.


1. All living things depend on plants in order to survive. How does the cougar depend on plants? ______________________________________

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2. Describe what would happen to cougars if all plants were removed from Earth. ______________________________________

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Photosynthesis Classwork Name: __________________________

2nd Grade PSI

Tulips are flowering plants that bloom in spring and grow to be between 10 cm and 71 cm high (4 inches to 28 inches). Palm trees are plants with large, green leaves that grow in warm, wet areas. There is a large variety of plants on Earth. Although they are all different, plants are similar in that they all need the same things in order to survive.


The chart below shows the five needs of plants. Fill in the chart to show why plants need each of these.

Plant Need Why do plants need this?

Sunlight

Soil

Water

Space

Air


Photosynthesis Homework Name: __________________________

2nd Grade PSI

Use the terms in the Word Bank to fill in the blanks.

Word Bank air carbon dioxide food leaves oxygen photosynthesis soil sunlight water

Plants make their own food through a process

called (1) ___________________. This process

happens in the (2) _______________ of a plant.

During photosynthesis, plants use (3) ____________,

(4) _______________, and (5) _______________. By

the end of photosynthesis, plants have produced

(6) _______________ and (7) _______________.

Plants get carbon dioxide from the (8) ____________

surrounding them. They get water from the

(9) _______________.


Pollination Classwork Name: __________________________

2nd Grade PSI

For the descriptions below, decide if each type of pollination is wind, water or animal.

1. Pondweed is a plant that grows in the water. The roots grow in the mud at the bottom of the pond. The leaves and flowers grow upwards to the surface.

During pollination, one branch will break off and float until it comes into contact with another branch where it shares pollen.

What type of pollination is this? ________________

2. The saw-tooth oak tree has small flowers that hang from the branches. Pollen falls from the flowers and is carried to flowers on nearby trees. What type of pollination is this?

_________________


3. Sunbirds are birds that fly from flower to flower eating nectar from each flower. What type of pollination is this?

4. Wind and water pollination is convenient because it does not depend on animals. What is one negative aspect about wind and water pollination?

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Pollination Homework Name: __________________________

2nd Grade PSI

Milkweed is a flowering plant that grows groups of tiny flowers. Milkweed has developed a system for being pollinated by butterflies, moths and bees. These flowers collect their pollen in little sacs that are attached to the base of each flower. They also produce sweet nectar that attracts animals to them. Since the flowers are so small, there is not much space for the animals to land or walk around. In order to eat the flower nectar, the animals have to stick their legs down around the flower and hold on tightly. When they do this, the pollen sacs attach to the animals with a sticky substance. When the animal flies away, they carry the pollen sac with them to the next flower, where pollination occurs!


1. What is pollination? ______________________________________

______________________________________

2. Why is pollination important? ______________________________________

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3. How does milkweed attract animal pollinators? ______________________________________

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4. Describe how milkweed has created a successful method for pollination? ______________________________________

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Dispersal Classwork Name: __________________________

2nd Grade PSI

Tumbleweeds are actually a plant called the Russian thistle. These plants grow as a round bush. At maturity, the upper part of the plant breaks off from the base and rolls away in the wind. This is what we call tumbleweeds. Tumbleweeds actually have a purpose. Each tumbleweed can carry up to 250,000 seeds! As the tumbleweed moves in the wind, these seeds are dislodged. In this way, Russian thistle dispersal occurs far from the parent plant.

1. What is dispersal? ______________________________________

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2. Why is dispersal important? ______________________________________

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3. What would happen if the 250,000 contained in the Russian thistle simply dropped to the ground below the parent plant? ______________________________________

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4. How does the Russian thistle make sure that its seeds are dispersed far from the parent plant? What type of dispersal does it use? ______________________________________

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Dispersal Homework Name: __________________________

2nd Grade PSI

These burs are sticky and have prickly coverings that can get stuck in animal fur. The seed is located on the inside.

Raspberries are sweet fruit that contains a seed in each round section of the berry. Acorns are the nut of the oak tree. The seed is located on the inside of the hard covering.


1. Describe how burs, raspberries and acorns disperse seeds away from the parent plant.

Burs:

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Raspberries:

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Acorns:

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2. Sometimes, humans disperse seeds. Can you think of one way that human dispersal can occur? ______________________________________

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Unit Review Name: __________________________

2nd Grade PSI

Directions: Write the answer to each question in the box. Use the letters to solve the riddle.

1. Plants get water and nutrients from the ____.

5

2. Plants make their own food in a process called

____.

2

3. Without ___, plants would not be able to make

seeds.

7

4. Some plants create A LOT of pollen. These plants probably use ___ or ___ for pollination.

1

Or

4


5. Most plants use ____ for pollination.

3

6. When seeds move away from a parent plant, it

is called ____.

10

7. The ___ of flowers and seeds help them to be

pollinated and dispersed efficiently.

6

9

8. Small, round fruit that contain a lot of seeds are

dispersed when animals eat them. They are called ___.

8

Question: What did the old flower say to the young flower? Answer: ___ ___ ___ ___ ‘ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ! 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10


Answer Key What are plants? Classwork

1. Answers may vary. They are both living things. 2. Answers may vary. The cosmos is a producer while the giraffes are consumers.

The cosmos cannot move while the giraffes can. What are plants? Homework

1. The animals that the cougar eats use plants as food. Because of this, the cougar depends on plants.

2. If there were no plants, the herbivores would have no food and would die. With no herbivores, there would be no food for the cougar, so it would die too.

Photosynthesis Classwork

Plant Need Why do plants need this?

Sunlight To make their own food (photosynthesis)

Soil For water and vitamins

Water To make their own food (photosynthesis)

Space To have room to grow

Air To make their own food (photosynthesis)

Photosynthesis Homework

1. photosynthesis 2. leaves 3. carbon dioxide 4. water 5. sunlight 6. food 7. oxygen 8. air 9. soil

Pollination Classwork

1. water 2. wind 3. animal 4. Plants that pollinate by wind and water have to produce a lot of pollen.

Pollination Homework

1. Pollination is the process of transferring pollen from one flower to another. 2. Pollination is important because it is how new seeds are created. 3. Milkweed attracts animal pollinators by creating sweet nectar for them to eat. 4. Milkweed has put all of its pollen into little sacs at the base of the flower. When

an animal grabs hold of the flower, the pollen sacs attach to the animal and travel with them to the next flower, where pollination can occur.

An

y o

rder


Dispersal Classwork 1. Dispersal is the movement of seeds away from the parent plant. 2. Dispersal is important because plants need space to survive. 3. The seeds would not have enough space to survive. They would compete for

nutrients and water in the soil and would not get enough sunlight. 4. Russian thistle uses wind for dispersal. It rolls in the wind, dislodging seeds as it

rolls. Dispersal Homework

1. Burs: Burs get stuck in animal fur. When the animal walks away, the seed goes with it. Raspberry: Animals eat the raspberry. The seeds come out in the animal’s waste, far from the parent plant. Acorn: Animals bury the acorns away from the tree. If they forget where they are buried, then the acorns can grow into a tree, far from the parent tree.

2. Answers will vary. Unit Review

1. Soil 2. Photosynthesis 3. Pollination 4. Wind 5. Water 6. Animals 7. Dispersal 8. Structure 9. Berries What did the old flower say to the young flower? What’s up bud!

what are plants? classworkcontent.njctl.org/courses/science/2nd-grade... · nd2 grade psi plants...

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