New
New
Year 10
OCR
Foundation

Meristem cells in plants

I can explain what meristem cells are and give examples of where they are found in plants.

New
New
Year 10
OCR
Foundation

Meristem cells in plants

I can explain what meristem cells are and give examples of where they are found in plants.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Plants have unspecialised cells called meristem cells, which are located in the stem and the tips of roots and shoots.
  2. Meristem cells in roots and shoots divide and differentiate to enable roots and shoots to grow longer and wider.
  3. Meristem cells in the shoots also divide and differentiate to make leaves and flowers.
  4. Meristem cells in the stem and roots also divide and differentiate to make tissues such as xylem and phloem.
  5. Meristem tissue can be used to produce clones for crops or to protect endangered species.

Common misconception

Roots are not a tissue of the plant, or contain living cells, also that wood is not made of living cells.

Show the cells of roots and how they divide to allow the length and width of the root to grow; also the rings on trees that indicate new cell division in the trunk of a tree.

Keywords

  • Meristem - unspecialised cells that undergo mitosis and can differentiate into any type of plant cell

  • Shoot - where new plant growth occurs above the ground

  • Root - where new plant growth occurs underground

  • Xylem - a plant tissue that transports water upwards through the plant

  • Phloem - a plant tissue that transports sugars through the plant

As an alternative to Task C, students could complete a research activity on a particular rare species or crop plant.
Teacher tip

Equipment

None required.

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of these cells is not a specialised cell?
nerve cell
red blood cell
Correct answer: embryonic stem cell
smooth muscle cell
Q2.
Which of these cells could become any type of cell in an animal?
nerve cell
smooth muscle cell
red blood cell
Correct answer: embryonic stem cell
Q3.
In multicellular organisms, body cells divide by the process of to make new body cells.
Correct Answer: mitosis
Q4.
What is the name of the process that turns an unspecialised stem cell into a specialised cell?
Correct answer: differentiation
meiosis
mitosis
speciation
Q5.
Who is correct?
Jacob: “Genes are deleted from the genome when a cell differentiates.”
Correct answer: Andeep: “Some genes are turned off or on when a cell differentiates.”
Sofia: “Genes are added to the genome when a cell differentiates.”
Q6.
True or false? All specialised body cells have the same genes present in their genome.
Correct answer: true
false

6 Questions

Q1.
Which of these cells is not a specialised cell?
guard cell
Correct answer: meristem cell
phloem cell
root hair cell
Q2.
Which of these cells could become any type of cell in a plant?
guard cell
Correct answer: meristem cell
phloem cell
root hair cell
Q3.
Who is correct?
Sam: “Meristem cells are only found in the plant stem.”
Izzy: “Despite their name, meristem cells are only found in plant roots.”
Correct answer: Lucas: “Meristem cells are found in plant roots, shoots and stems.”
Q4.
Match each process to its function.
Correct Answer:differentiation,turns meristem cells into specialised cells

turns meristem cells into specialised cells

Correct Answer:elongation,increases the size of specialised cells

increases the size of specialised cells

Correct Answer:mitosis,makes more meristem cells

makes more meristem cells

Q5.
During differentiation of meristem cells to become specialised cells, are switched on or off.
Correct Answer: genes
Q6.
Which statement explains why a small cutting of a plant shoot can grow into a whole plant with roots, shoots and stems?
An image in a quiz
All the cells in the cutting are unspecialised.
Only cell elongation is required to make new specialised cells and tissues.
The cutting already contains root cells.
Correct answer: The cutting contains meristem cells that can turn into any type of plant cell.