New
New
Year 9

Plant nutrition

You can describe what plants need from their surroundings to stay alive and grow, and how they get food.

New
New
Year 9

Plant nutrition

You can describe what plants need from their surroundings to stay alive and grow, and how they get food.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Plants are living organisms that need light, air, water and minerals to stay alive and grow
  2. Plants take in light and gases from air through their leaves, and take in water and minerals through their roots
  3. Water and minerals are not food, but plants do need food to stay alive and grow
  4. Plants do not take in food from their surroundings, they are producers that make their own food
  5. The food that plants make is carbohydrate, which they use for growth and as a source of energy

Common misconception

Plants take in food from their surroundings.

This lesson explores why the things taken in by plants are not food, and the idea that plants make the food they need to survive.

Keywords

  • Minerals - Plants need chemicals called minerals to stay healthy and grow.

  • Food - Food is any substance that an organism uses as a source of both energy and materials for growth and repair.

  • Producer - A producer is an organism that makes its own food.

  • Carbohydrate - Carbohydrate is a type of food. Sugar and starch are examples of carbohydrates.

The misconception that plants take in food (e.g. from soil) has been described in science education research as “universal and persistent… [at] all ages”, so it is worth investing time in challenging it before exploring the topic of photosynthesis.
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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6 Questions

Q1.
Match each part of the plant to its correct name.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer:part A,flower

flower

Correct Answer:part B,leaf

leaf

Correct Answer:part C,stem

stem

Correct Answer:part D,root

root

Q2.
Who has the correct idea about plants?
Correct answer: Aisha: "Plants are living organisms."
Izzy: "Plants are not living organisms."
Lucas: "Plants are organisms but they are not living things."
Q3.
An organism that makes its own food is a _____.
consumer
herbivore
predator
Correct answer: producer
Q4.
How many producers are shown in the food chain?
An image in a quiz
0
Correct answer: 1
2
3
Q5.
Match each organism from the food chain to the correct term used to describe it.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer:grass,producer

producer

Correct Answer:cow,primary consumer

primary consumer

Correct Answer:human,secondary consumer

secondary consumer

Q6.
All plants and animals use food and oxygen as fuel to provide energy for life. What is the name of this process?
Breathing
Digestion
Nutrition
Correct answer: Respiration

6 Questions

Q1.
Which two things do plants take in from their surroundings through their leaves?
An image in a quiz
food
Correct answer: gasses from air
Correct answer: light
minerals
Q2.
Plants take in minerals and through their roots to help them stay alive.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: water, H2O, moisture, rain
Q3.
Who has the correct idea about plants?
Andeep: “Plants do not need food to stay alive.”
Jacob: “Plants make food for humans but don’t need food themselves.”
Correct answer: Jun: “Plants need food to stay alive.”
Sofia: “Plants take in nutrients and this is all the food they need."
Q4.
How do plants get the food they need to stay alive?
Plants eat soil.
Correct answer: Plants make their own food.
Plants take in food from the air.
Plants take in food from their surroundings.
Q5.
Plants make their own food. This food is a type of __________.
Correct answer: carbohydrate
fat
mineral
protein
Q6.
Plants make their own carbohydrate food. How do plants use this food?
As a source of nitrogen.
Correct answer: As fuel for cellular respiration to provide energy.
Correct answer: To make proteins, fats, cells and tissues.
To provide minerals for growth and repair.

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