Worksheet

Root Windows: A Museum Growth Mystery

Compare soil-grown and water-grown plants in a science museum. Use growth data to argue where plants get most of their growing materials.

Grade 5ScienceInteractive · Printable

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1 NGSS standard
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13 questions
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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 compare plant growth data to evaluate claims about soil and mineral nutrients.
Students distinguish light energy from materials that become part of growing plants.
Students argue from evidence that plants get their growing materials mainly from air and water.

How to use

Read the exhibit report and graph together. Have students solve independently, then discuss which evidence supports their final arguments.

Curriculum

NGSS standard covered

5-LS1-1

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

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Root Windows: A Museum Growth Mystery

Compare two museum exhibits and build an argument from evidence.

Compare the Root Windows

Read the museum report and graph. Use the evidence to answer the questions.

Two Places for Roots

At a science museum, visitors can compare two Root Windows exhibits. Each holds eight young bean plants of the same kind and age. In the Soil Bed, roots grow in soil. In the Water Bed, roots hang in water through a mesh support. The roots do not take material from the mesh. Museum scientists collected the following observations during a six-week investigation.

First, the scientists chose matching seedlings. They used extra matching seedlings to estimate each group's starting dry plant mass. Dry mass is the mass left after water has been removed. They did not dry and then regrow the exhibit plants. Next, they placed both groups under identical lamps with the same daily lighting time. Both groups received ordinary room air. Scientists kept both groups supplied with water.

The scientists changed the surroundings of the roots: soil or water. Over six weeks, they added a total of 2 grams of dry mineral nutrients to each group, dissolved in water. Mineral nutrients are substances plants need in small amounts. At the end, scientists collected the whole plants, including their roots. Museum staff dried and weighed them. The graph shows the estimated starting dry plant masses and the measured ending dry plant masses.

The Soil Bed began with 4,000 grams of dry soil, weighed before the mineral nutrients were added. After the plants were removed, the dry soil weighed 3,998 grams. The Water Bed had no soil at any time. Both groups made new stems and leaves during the investigation. Scientists recorded masses, but they did not record the number of leaves on each plant.

A nearby exhibit describes other scientific evidence. Carbon dioxide is a gas in air. Scientists have traced material from carbon dioxide into new plant parts. Water enters plants through their roots. Light supplies energy for growth; light itself is not a material that becomes plant tissue. Visitors must combine this information with the Root Windows results to decide which claims the evidence supports.

Using the estimated starting mass, how much dry plant mass did the Soil Bed gain? grams

Which difference did the scientists plan to compare?

A. The number of plants in each group
B. The daily lighting time for each group
C. The material surrounding each group's roots
D. The kind of bean plant in each group

Why did the scientists compare dry plant mass instead of weighing the plants while they were still full of water?

A. To avoid counting water held inside the plants as dry plant growth
B. To include the mass of the soil with the mass of the plants
C. To make sure the ending plants weighed less than the starting plants
D. To remove the mineral nutrients before they could help the plants grow

What conclusion about soil is supported by the Water Bed's results?

A. Soil must have formed around the roots during the test.
B. Plants in water can grow without taking in any materials.
C. Water-grown plants get most of their mass from the mesh.
D. These bean plants could add new plant material without soil.

Both groups had the same estimated starting dry mass. How many more grams of dry plant mass did the Soil Bed gain than the Water Bed? grams

Test the Claims

Use the report and graph to decide what the evidence supports.

A visitor claims, “Most of the Soil Bed's new plant mass must have come from the soil.” Which comparison is the strongest challenge to this claim?

A. The soil started at 4,000 grams, which was more than the plants' mass.
B. The soil's mass fell by 2 grams, while dry plant mass rose by 112 grams.
C. The Soil Bed ended at 128 grams, which was more than the Water Bed.
D. The plants grew for six weeks, while each group contained eight plants.

Select the TWO pieces of evidence that most directly challenge the claim that mineral nutrients supply nearly all of a plant's new material.

Material from carbon dioxide has been traced into new plant parts.Each exhibit began with eight bean plants of the same age.The Water Bed gained 104 grams of dry plant mass but received only 2 grams of minerals.The two groups had the same daily lighting time.

A visitor says, “The lamps supplied most of the material in the new leaves.” Which reply best corrects the mistake?

A. Lamp light becomes the solid material that makes up new leaves.
B. Lamp light replaces water when roots hang in a water tank.
C. Lamp light adds mineral nutrients directly to the growing leaves.
D. Lamp light supplies energy, while growing plants also take in materials.

Sort each claim by whether the museum evidence supports it. Do not assume the test measured more than the report describes.

Both groups gained more than 100 grams of dry plant mass.Every kind of plant would grow equally well in these two beds.The Soil Bed had a greater dry plant mass gain than the Water Bed.The water-grown plants made more leaves than the soil-grown plants.

Supported by the evidence	Not supported by the evidence

10.

The museum plans a new comparison using matching bean plants. Both groups will get the same water, minerals, and light. One group will get ordinary air; the other will get air with very little carbon dioxide. Which prediction best fits the evidence?

A. The low-carbon-dioxide group will grow more because it has less gas around it.
B. The low-carbon-dioxide group will add less new dry plant material.
C. Both groups will grow equally because air cannot supply plant material.
D. Both groups will stop growing because minerals work only in soil.

Build an Evidence-Based Explanation

Choose useful evidence, then write clear scientific explanations.

11.

Which additional research would most directly strengthen an argument that air and water supply most of a plant's growing material?

A. Measure how much new plant material came from carbon dioxide and water.
B. Compare the number of visitors who prefer each of the two exhibits.
C. Measure the mass of each plant while water still clings to its roots.
D. Compare how much soil fits in containers with different shapes.

12.

Where do plants get most of the materials they need to grow? Write a claim and support it with at least two pieces of museum evidence. Include a number from the graph and the evidence about carbon dioxide.

13.

A visitor writes this label: “The Water Bed proves that plants need only water to grow.” Explain why the label goes beyond the evidence. Rewrite it to include the roles of air, water, light, and mineral nutrients.