WorksheetPremium

Basil Boxes at the School Garden Steps

Compare basil plants grown with different amounts of crowding and use observations to explain how the environment can affect traits.

Grade 3ScienceInteractive · Printable

Aligned to3-LS3-2

Buy this worksheet: $1.50

Or unlock every Premium worksheet with Premium

PrintUnlock to print

Answer keyUnlock to see answers

Assign to classUnlock to assign with a class code

What’s included

Single worksheet
Auto-graded online
1 NGSS standard
Printable answer key
13 questions
Classroom-ready

Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 3
Subject: Science
Question types: Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students compare plant traits using measurements from two growing environments.
Students use evidence to explain how crowding can affect plant growth.
Students distinguish supported conclusions from claims that need more evidence.

How to use

Read the investigation and graph together. Have students answer independently, then discuss which measurements support their explanations.

Curriculum

NGSS standard covered

3-LS3-2

Use evidence to explain that the environment can affect traits, such as a plant that gets too little water.

Preview

OwlSheets.com

Name Date

Basil Boxes at the School Garden Steps

Compare plant traits and use evidence to explain differences.

Compare the Two Boxes

Read the investigation. Use the plant notes and graph to answer the questions.

The Garden Club's Basil Test

The garden club placed two planting boxes beside the school garden steps. The students wanted to find out whether crowding could affect basil plants. They used young plants of the same kind of basil. Each plant was about 6 centimeters tall and had four leaves at the start.

The boxes were the same size and held equal amounts of the same soil. Box A held two plants spaced far apart. Box B held eight plants spaced close together. Both boxes received the same amount of water each day and the same hours of sunlight. The students changed the number of plants sharing each box.

Imani tied a loose paper tag to one plant in each box. She measured these same two plants at the start and after four weeks. The graph shows their heights. At the end, the tagged plant in Box A had 12 leaves. Its widest leaf was 6 centimeters wide. The tagged plant in Box B had eight leaves. Its widest leaf was 4 centimeters wide.

The students recorded height, leaf number, and leaf width as plant traits. They had measured two tagged plants, not every basil plant in the garden.