Plants Need Sunlight and Water
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What you will learn
- 1Name what plants need to survive
- 2Explain what sunlight, water, soil, and air each do for a plant
Mini Lesson
Have you ever wondered why a plant by a sunny window grows strong and green, but a plant in a dark corner turns pale and weak? Plants are living things — and like all living things, they have needs.
Plants need sunlight
- Sunlight gives plants the energy to make their own food.
- This food-making process is called photosynthesis.
- Example: Leaves face the sun to catch as much light as possible.
Plants need water
- Roots soak up water from the soil and send it up the stem.
- Water carries minerals from the soil to every part of the plant.
- Without water, a plant will wilt and die.
Plants need soil and air
- Soil holds the roots in place and stores minerals the plant uses.
- Plants take in a gas called carbon dioxide from the air through tiny holes in their leaves.
- They use carbon dioxide and sunlight together to make food.
Words to know
Sunlight
Light from the sun that plants use to make food
e.g. Plants face the sunlight.
Water
A drink plants pull up from the soil through their roots
e.g. Roots take in water.
Soil
The dirt that holds plants and stores minerals for them
e.g. My plant grows in soft soil.
Photosynthesis
How plants use sunlight, water, and air to make their food
e.g. Leaves do photosynthesis to make food.
Carbon dioxide
A gas in the air that plants take in through their leaves
e.g. Leaves take in carbon dioxide.
Wilt
When a plant droops because it has no water
e.g. My flower will wilt without water.
Ask yourself: "What would happen if I covered the plant's leaves? What if I stopped watering it?"
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