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7th grade · Science · Unit 6 of 10

How Plants Work

Roots, leaves, flowers and photosynthesis

What your child practices

The parts of seed plants and what they do, photosynthesis, gas exchange, transpiration and pollination, and how plant structures suit where a plant grows.

Alaska content standards learning standard: MS-LS1-6 · plant structures and photosynthesis in the cycling of matter and flow of energy

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Roots take in water, stems hold the plant up, leaves make food, flowers make seeds.
  2. Xylem carries water up from the roots. Phloem carries sugar from the leaves.
  3. Stomata are tiny leaf openings that let carbon dioxide in and oxygen and water vapor out.

Example: Which tubes carry water from the roots to the leaves? Phloem carries sugar. The water tubes are the other kind. Answer: xylem

How Plants Work in Alaska

In the Alaska content standards, this is unit 6 of 10 in 7th grade Science, after Particles & Mixtures and before Chemical Reactions.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alaska Department of Education and Early Development

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    What happens during pollination?

    • Leaves make sugar
    • A seed grows into a seedling
    • Pollen is moved to the female part of a flower
    • Roots take in water

  2. Question 2

    What are the three things a seed usually needs in order to germinate?

    • Frost, darkness and wind
    • Light, sugar and salt
    • Pollen, petals and roots
    • Water, warmth and air

  3. Question 3

    Which tubes in a stem carry water up from the roots?

    • Phloem
    • Stomata
    • Xylem
    • Petals

  4. Question 4

    Pine trees have needle-shaped leaves with a waxy coating. How does this help in a cold, dry winter?

    • It makes the leaves fall off
    • It reduces water loss from the leaves
    • It helps them grow flowers
    • It lets them catch more rain

  5. Question 5

    A student covers half of a green leaf with black paper for a week. What will she most likely find?

    • The covered part made more sugar
    • The covered part is paler because it got no light
    • The whole leaf has fallen off
    • The covered part is greener

  6. Question 6

    Water moves from the soil into a root hair mostly by…

    • photosynthesis
    • osmosis
    • decomposition
    • pollination

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