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7th grade · Science · Unit 5 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.

Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards benchmark: 7L.3.2.1.2; 7L.3.2.1.1 · photosynthesis, and how environment and genes affect how plants grow

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 Minnesota

In the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards, this is unit 5 of 10 in 7th grade Science, after Body Systems and before Ecosystems.

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: Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)

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 does photosynthesis make?

    • Soil and sugar
    • Carbon dioxide and water
    • Sugar (food for the plant) and oxygen
    • Water and nitrogen

  2. Question 2

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

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

  3. Question 3

    Which plant is best suited to a very dry, windy field?

    • One that needs shade all day
    • One with deep taproots and narrow leaves
    • One that needs flooded soil
    • One with wide, thin leaves and shallow roots

  4. Question 4

    What is the job of a seed?

    • To carry water up the stem
    • To attract bees
    • To hold a tiny new plant and its food supply
    • To make sugar from sunlight

  5. Question 5

    Which part of a plant mostly makes food by photosynthesis?

    • The seeds
    • The roots
    • The bark
    • The leaves

  6. Question 6

    A dandelion has one thick, deep root that goes straight down. What kind of root is this?

    • A stem root
    • A flower root
    • A taproot
    • A fibrous root

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