Plant

Key Stage 1

Meaning

A plant with the roots showing.

A plant is a living thing that has roots and can make its own food.

Singular Noun: Plant

Plural Noun: Plants

Verb: To plant

About Plants

Plants usually have a part of them that is green. Most often this is their leaves, but some plants have no leaves like a cactus.

Some plants are wild and other plants are cultivated.

We get fruits and vegetables from some plants but some plants have poisonous fruit that we can't eat.

Survival

To survive a plant needs water, warmth and light.

An adult plant will wilt if it does not get enough water and then it could die.

An adult plant will die if it gets too cold and wilt and then die it if gets too hot.

An adult plant will not be able to make its own food if there is not enough light so the plant will lose its leaves and go into a dormant state.

Germination

When a seed is planted, if the conditions are right it will germinate and start to grow into an adult plant.

If there is not enough water, and it is too cold or too hot, the seed will not germinate.

Examples

A tree is a large plant with a woody trunk.	A flower only grows on flowering plants.
A fern is a plant that doesn't grow flowers.	Moss is a small soft plant that can't grow flowers.

Note for Teachers

Be careful not to suggest that plants get their food from the soil. Plants only get water and minerals from the soil. The majority of a plant is made using the Carbon Dioxide that the plant absorbed from the air.

Mushrooms are often mistaken for vegetables which also leads children to falsely identify them as a plant. They are in fact a fungus.

Key Stage 3

Meaning

A plant is an organism that makes its own food.

About Plants

Plants usually have a part of them that is green. Most often this is their leaves, but some plants have no leaves like a cactus.

Some plants are wild and other plants are cultivated.

We get fruits and vegetables from some plants but some plants have poisonous fruit that we can't eat.

Survival

To survive a plant needs water, warmth and light.

An adult plant will wilt if it does not get enough water and then it could die.

An adult plant will die if it gets too cold and wilt and then die it if gets too hot.

An adult plant will not be able to make its own food if there is not enough light so the plant will lose its leaves and go into a dormant state.

Germination

When a seed is planted, if the conditions are right it will germinate and start to grow into an adult plant.

If there is not enough water, and it is too cold or too hot, the seed will not germinate.

Classification of Plants

Moss	Flowering Plants	Conifer	Fern

References

AQA

Plant; cells, page 11, GCSE Biology; The Revision Guide, CGP, AQA

Plant; diseases, page 55, GCSE Biology; The Revision Guide, CGP, AQA

Plant; growth, pages 81, 82, GCSE Biology; The Revision Guide, CGP, AQA

Plant; hormones, pages 81, 82, GCSE Biology; The Revision Guide, CGP, AQA

Plants, pages 236-237, GCSE Physics; Third Edition, Oxford University Press, AQA

Plants, pages 36, 67-77, 124-5, 202, GCSE Biology, Hodder, AQA

Plants; adaptations, pages 268, 272-273, GCSE Biology; Third Edition, Oxford University Press, AQA

Plants; cells, pages 5-7, 23, GCSE Biology, Hodder, AQA

Plants; cloning, pages 29, 31, 179, 226, GCSE Biology; Third Edition, Oxford University Press, AQA

Plants; competition, pages 236-7, GCSE Biology, Hodder, AQA

Plants; Competition, pages 75-6, GCSE Combined Science Trilogy 2, Hodder, AQA

Plants; defence systems, page 106, GCSE Biology, Hodder, AQA

Plants; defences, pages 94-95, GCSE Biology; Third Edition, Oxford University Press, AQA

Plants; diseases, pages 102-9, GCSE Biology, Hodder, AQA

Plants; diseases, pages 87, 92-95, GCSE Biology; Third Edition, Oxford University Press, AQA

Plants; Effects of abiotic factors, pages 78-9, GCSE Combined Science Trilogy 2, Hodder, AQA

Plants; genetic engineering, pages 224-225, 230-231, GCSE Biology; Third Edition, Oxford University Press, AQA

Plants; hormones, pages 169-76, GCSE Biology, Hodder, AQA

Plants; hormones, pages 176-179, GCSE Biology; Third Edition, Oxford University Press, AQA

Plants; organ systems, pages 71-2, GCSE Biology, Hodder, AQA

Plants; organs, pages 62-63, GCSE Biology; Third Edition, Oxford University Press, AQA

Plants; organs, pages 70-1, GCSE Biology, Hodder, AQA

Plants; reproduction, pages 200-201, GCSE Biology; Third Edition, Oxford University Press, AQA

Plants; selective breeding, pages 222-223, GCSE Biology; Third Edition, Oxford University Press, AQA

Plants; tissues, page 68-70, GCSE Biology, Hodder, AQA

Plants; transpiration, pages 66-69, GCSE Biology; Third Edition, Oxford University Press, AQA

Plants; transport, pages 12-13, 18-21, 23, 62-65, GCSE Biology; Third Edition, Oxford University Press, AQA