4 What have I learned about plants?

Summary: Tags: science oxford-science student-book-7 biology Created: 2026-05-19 Last Updated: 2026-05-19

In this chapter, you have:

• learned how plants make food through the process of Photosynthesis, and how photosynthesis is important for all life on Earth
• looked at how leaves are adapted for photosynthesis to take place
• studied the effects of minerals on plant growth
• learned how plants reproduce and studied the structure of flowers, pollination, fertilization, and germination
• investigated the different methods a plant uses to disperse seeds.

Journey through plants What do I already know? - Parts of a plant

• What a plant needs to grow This chapter - 4.1 Photosynthesis
• 4.2 Leaves
• 4.3 Plant minerals
• 4.4 Flowers and pollination
• 4.5 Fertilization and germination
• 4.6 Seed dispersal What comes next? - Plants in food chains
• Ecosystems
• Reproduction
• Variation

Figure 2

1. Plants make food by the process of photosynthesis. Choose the word that describes these organisms. consumers  herbivores  producers (1 mark)State where in a cell photosynthesis takes place. (1 mark)Name the gas produced by photosynthesis. (1 mark)Plants store glucose as starch. Describe a positive test for starch. (2 marks)
2. Plants need to take in minerals, such as magnesium, to remain healthy. State one other mineral needed by plants. (1 mark)Give one way farmers add minerals to the soil. (1 mark)Describe the role of magnesium in a plant. (3 marks)
3. To check if a leaf has carried out photosynthesis, you can find out if it contains starch. Put steps A–D in the correct order to show how to test a leaf for starch. (3 marks) Wash the leaf in water.Boil the leaf in water.Put the leaf on a white tile and add a few drops of iodine.Put the leaf into a test tube of ethanol and place in the boiling water.State the colour change you would see if the leaf contains starch. (2 marks)Glucose changes into starch for the plant to store. State one other use of glucose by the plant. (1 mark)
4. Figure 1 shows equipment that can be used to study photosynthesis. Figure 1 Name the gas given off by the plant. (1 mark)State the two Reactants needed for photosynthesis. (2 marks)Describe the role of stomata in photosynthesis. (2 marks)Suggest and explain what would happen to the number of bubbles if the plant were placed in the dark. (3 marks)
5. Explain how leaves are adapted for photosynthesis. (6 marks)
6. Flowers help a plant to reproduce. Look at Figure 2. Name the parts of the flower A–D. (4 marks) Figure 2 Full text alternative to the contentInsect-pollinated flowers are normally a bright colour. Give one other way flowers attract insects. (1 mark)
7. Plants can be pollinated by insects or the wind. Describe what happens during pollination. (1 mark)Explain the differences in the structure of insect-pollinated and wind-pollinated plants. (4 marks)