Plants are the lifegivers of the planet. They play an important role within our ecosystems, and they have uncanny ways in which they do this. They are called producers, as they produce oxygen for us to breathe, and also provide sources of food in terms of salads, nuts and also some flowers. Plants require sunlight in order to survive, so without our Sun, they will not be able to photosynthesise.
What Plants Do
The function of plants is fairly simple, but at the same time, quite complex. They are producers and require the sun to properly work.
Structure of a Plant
There are different parts of a plant, and they each serve a purpose or function.
Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is a process that enables a plant to grow, get energy and also provide oxygen to the atmosphere.
Glucose Uses After Photosynthesis
Once glucose has been created through the process of photosynthesis, it is used for growth and repair.
Factors Surrounding Photosynthesis
There are many factors that limit or enable photosynthesis.
Plant Reproduction
Plants need to reproduce in order to make more, or to survive and live the following year.
Biotic Factors & Abiotic Factors
There are living and non-living factors that affect photosynthesis.
Osmosis
Osmosis is a process that moves concentration from one area to another, but it uses a semi-permeable membrane. Diffusion is the same, but doesn't require the membrane and can happen anywhere.
Active Transport
The opposite of Osmosis and diffusion, active transport moves molecules from outside to the inside of a cell, using energy to do so.
Endothermic & Exothermic Reaction
Endothermic reactions pull heat into it, whereas exothermic reaction pushes heat out of it.
Plant Respiration
Plants respire similar to humans, however there are differences.
The Respiratory System - Respiration
Humans conduct respiration on a cellular level, and the process is similar to how plants respire.
Transpiration
Transpiration is similar to evaporation, but where excess water is released from plants to go into the water cycle.
Tropisms
Tropisms is the direction that everything moves. Roots know to move into the ground, and the shoots of a plant know to move above ground.
Plant Diseases
Plants can get diseases just like humans can, and this can limit things like growth and photosynthesis.
Plant Defences Against Disease
Plants have a few tricks up their sleeves when it comes to combatting diseases.
Genetic Modification
Genetic modification happens because we want plants to grow to their full potential, sometimes to give us a bigger yield of crops or to be resistant to diseases.
Charles Darwin
Discovering the theory of evolution, Charles Darwin set out during the 1800s on an expedition that when returned fell out of favour with other scientists. However, his theories became the building blocks for classification and binomial nomenclature legend.
Barbara McClintock
Barbara McClintock was a geneticist that discovered that chromosomes can change position to make the next one active or inactive. She is well known for working with maize for her tests and results.
Gregor Mendel
Considered the father of genetics, Gregor Mendel created the law of assortment through experiments with peas, noting that there are dominant and recessive genes.
Alfred Russel Wallace
At around the same time as Charles Darwin, Alfred Russel Wallace also visited the Galapagos islands, and created a line that depicted this.
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