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Forecasts for the Park Bandstand Roof

Use plant-growth records from a city park roof to argue that plants get most growth materials from air and water.

Grade 5ScienceInteractive · Printable

Aligned to5-LS1-1

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What’s included

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

Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 5
Subject: Science
Question types: Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students use growth data to argue that plant materials come mainly from air and water.
Students distinguish material sources from sunlight's role as an energy source.
Students predict plant growth using evidence about air, water, soil, and mineral nutrients.

How to use

Read the study and graph together. Have students answer independently, then discuss which evidence supports each growth prediction.

Curriculum

NGSS standard covered

5-LS1-1

Argue that plants get the materials they need to grow mainly from air and water.

Preview

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Name Date

Forecasts for the Park Bandstand Roof

Use growth records to predict what plants will need.

Study the Roof Trial

Read the study and examine the graph. Use evidence from both to answer.

Plants Above the Music

A city park is adding planted trays to the flat roof above its bandstand. Before choosing the trays, park staff study what supplies help plants build new leaves, roots, and stems. The practice records below describe a six-week trial with four groups of bean seedlings. Each group has ten seedlings of the same kind and starting size. Staff want evidence they can use to predict growth.

A plant's fresh mass includes water stored inside it. Staff instead compare dry plant mass: the mass remaining after an adult dries the harvested plants. Extra, closely matched seedlings provide an estimated starting dry mass of 20 grams for each group. Staff collect all plant parts at the end. Every group receives the same light and temperature, and growing boxes have the same airflow. Adult-operated equipment controls the amount of carbon dioxide, a gas in air.

Group A grows in soil with normal air and enough water to keep its roots moist. Group B has the same conditions except that its air contains much less carbon dioxide. Group C has normal air and moist roots but no soil. Holders support its roots in water containing a small amount of mineral nutrients. Group D grows in soil with normal air but receives less water, so its roots sometimes dry out. Other conditions match Group A.

The graph shows each group's increase in dry plant mass, not its final mass. Staff also weigh Group A's dry soil before and after the trial. It changes from 2,000 grams to 1,998 grams. They prevent spills so missing soil will not be mistaken for material taken up by plants. The records do not show how much of the added plant material came from each source.

To interpret the records, remember that roots take in water and mineral nutrients. Leaves take in carbon dioxide from air. Scientists have traced material from both water and carbon dioxide into newly built plant parts. Plants also need light, which supplies energy rather than material for building those parts. Mineral nutrients are needed in small amounts. A plant without soil can still receive them in its water.