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Year 5

Brazil nut production

You can describe how Brazil nuts are grown, harvested, and exported, and threats to their production and trade.

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New
New
Year 5

Brazil nut production

You can describe how Brazil nuts are grown, harvested, and exported, and threats to their production and trade.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Brazil nuts have a specific life cycle, to which there are some potential threats.
  2. Agouti are small rainforest animals which are critical for the life cycle of Brazil nuts in the rainforest ecosystem.
  3. The plants and animals in the rainforest are interconnected and depend on each other.
  4. A variety of information sources can be used to investigate Brazil nuts and threats to their production and trade.

Common misconception

Pupils think that Brazil nuts are only found in Brazil.

Brazil nuts can be found in multiple countries in South America including Peru, Brazil, Ecuador and Colombia.

Keywords

  • Pollinate - Pollinate means depositing pollen on parts of a plant or flower to enable fertilisation to take place.

  • Life cycle - A life cycle is the series of stages that plants, animals and other livings things go through during their lifetime.

As an additional activity, pupils could investigate an example of interdependence in the UK.
Teacher tip

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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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of the following foods are widely grown in the UK? Select two answers.
Correct answer: wheat
oranges
Correct answer: tomatoes
mangoes
Q2.
Which part of a plant am I? I have petals, and bees often like to visit me. Select 1 answer.
Correct answer: flower
fruit
root
stem
Q3.
What part of a plant am I? I have seeds inside me and I am sometimes eaten by animals. Select 1 answer.
flower
Correct answer: fruit
leaf
root
Q4.
____________ is when pollen is deposited on parts of a plant or flower to enable fertilisation to take place.
dispersal
germination
Correct answer: pollination
flowering
Q5.
__________ describes the series of stages that plants, animals and other livings things go through during their lifetime. Select 1 answer.
fertilisation
Correct answer: life cycle
reproduction
dispersal
Q6.
__________ refers to a natural environment and the plants and animals that live and interact within that environment. Select 1 answer.
habitat
biome
climate
Correct answer: ecosystem

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which creature pollinates the flowers of the Brazil nut tree? Select 1 answer.
a species of hummingbird
a species of butterfly
Correct answer: a species of bee
Q2.
How are the seeds of the Brazil nut tree dispersed? Select 1 answer.
by wind
Correct answer: by the agouti
by water
Q3.
Order these stages of the Brazil nut lifecycle.
1 - the Brazil nut tree flowers for only a single day each year
2 - the flowers of the Brazil nut tree are pollinated by the Euglossine bee
3 - the flowers of the Brazil nut tree slowly develop into fruit (pods)
4 - the Brazil nuts fall to the ground and are eaten by the agouti
5 - the agoutis spread any uneaten nuts (the tree’s seeds) in the rainforest
6 - some of these seeds grow into Brazil nut trees
Q4.
Order these stages to show what happens to most of the Brazil nuts that are collected by people in the Amazon rainforest.
1 - transported along rivers in the rainforest by boat
2 - sorted, selected and cleaned in factories
3 - packed ready for transporting by ship
4 - exported around the world
5 - bought in supermarkets in other countries
Q5.
Which of these is a likely effect of the agouti going extinct? Select 1 anwer.
fewer new Brazil nut trees being able to grow
less nectar for the female Euglossine bee to feed on
not as many Brazil nuts being produced
people losing their jobs
Correct answer: all of the above
Q6.
Match the keyword with the correct description.
Correct Answer:pollination,Pollen is deposited on parts of a plant or flower.

Pollen is deposited on parts of a plant or flower.

Correct Answer:fertilisation,Pollen fertilises the egg cells to make seeds.

Pollen fertilises the egg cells to make seeds.

Correct Answer:seed disperal,Seeds are scattered by animals, wind or water.

Seeds are scattered by animals, wind or water.

Correct Answer:life cycle,Series of stages that living things go through.

Series of stages that living things go through.