The Venus flytrap is a small, carnivorous plant.
Its sweet-scented leaves attract insects.
These leaves open and close like jaws to capture insects. When the plant is touched, sensitive hairs on the inside of the leaves send signals to the plant.
So, when an insect touches one of these hairs, the leaves snap shut. The plant then slowly digests
the trapped insect. After about a week, all that is left of the insect is its hard exoskeleton.
The Venus flytrap can live in soils with a low mineral content because it obtains minerals from the insects it captures.
1 Read and write T (true) or F (false). Then, correct the false sentences.
a. The Venus flytrap is a carnivorous plant.
b. The plant’s beautiful flowers attract insects.
c. Sensitive hairs send signals to the plant.
d. The Venus flytrap obtains minerals from insects.
e. A Venus flytrap takes about a month to digest an insect.
2 Search the Internet for carnivorous plants. Choose one and complete the index card.
Name:
Where does it grow?
What animals does it trap?
How does it get nutrients?
Name Date
Plants
EXTENSION1 Label the plant. Then, answer the question.
• Is the stem of this plant woody or herbaceous? Explain.
2 Label the parts of the leaf. Then, read and tick (✓).
a. Classify the leaf according to the edge.
smooth lobed jagged
b. Classify the leaf according to the shape.
palmate heart-shaped needle-shaped
3 Read and complete.
ferns – gymnosperms – rhizoids – seeds – angiosperms – flowers – mosses
Flowering plants produce with . The two main
groups are , like apple trees, and , like pine trees.
and are non-flowering plants. The roots
of mosses are called .
Name Date
Plants
ASSESSMENT4 Read and complete the text about plant nutrition.
carbon dioxide – photosynthesis – roots – raw sap water – sunlight – elaborated sap – mineral salts
Plants make their own food through .
They absorb and from the soil through their
. This mixture is the . Plants also absorb and from the air. They then transform
the raw sap into .
5 Find and circle five parts of the flower. Then, complete the sentences.
p c o r o l l a
e q y w q b p z
t l p i s t i l
a y s e p a l s
l x t e i g f a
s s t a m e n s
a. It is the female part of the flower. It contains the ovary. It is the . b. The are the small green leaves that protect the flower.
c. The are the male parts of the flower. They produce pollen.
d. The are coloured leaves. They form the .
6 Match the sentences to the life processes that plants carry out.
a. Plants make elaborated sap.
b. The leaves and stems grow towards the light.
c. Pollen is produced in the stamens.
sensitivity nutrition reproduction
ASSESSMENT
1 The main parts of a plant are…
a. the roots, the leaves and the pistil.
b. the roots, the stems and the branches.
c. the roots, the leaves and the stem.
2 Herbaceous stems are…
a. soft and flexible. b. hard and rigid. c. hard and flexible.
3 Leaves are classified according to their…
a. colour. b. shape and edge. c. size.
4 Gymnosperms…
a. are non-flowering plants.
b. do not produce fruits.
c. do not produce seeds.
5 The female part of a plant is…
a. the corolla. b. the calyx. c. the pistil.
6 Plants respond to changes in the environment because they have…
a. roots. b. sensitivity. c. stamens.
7 The process by which plants make their own food is called…
a. respiration. b. photosynthesis. c. transpiration.
8 There are two main groups of flowering plants…
a. angiosperms and gymnosperms.
b. mosses and gymnosperms.
c. angiosperms and ferns.
9 Angiosperms usually have beautiful flowers and…
a. produce fruit with seeds inside.
b. seeds grouped together in cones.
c. have leaves all year round.
10 Non-flowering plants have rhizoids which…
a. fix the plant to the soil.
b. feed the plant.
c. produce the seeds.
Name Date
Plants
TEST1 What do plants need to grow?
Instructions
1. Work in groups of four. Each group has four small plants, a paper bag, a transparent plastic bag and water.
2. Label the plants as follows: 1. no water;
2. no light; 3. no air; 4. control plant.
3. Place the paper bag over plant number 2, so it doesn’t receive any light.
4. Place the plastic bag over plant number 3, so it doesn’t get any air.
5. Put the plants on a window sill and water them regularly, except for plant number 1. Make sure the control plant has air, light and water.
6. Observe the growth of the plants over the next four weeks and record your observations. Complete the table.
week plant 1 plant 2 plant 3 plant 4
1
2
3
4
7. Compare your results and answer the questions.
a. Did all the plants grow the same?
b. Which plant was the healthiest?
c. Which plant was the least healthy?
Name Date
Plants
INVESTIGATE1 Look and match the pictures to the areas.
forest
shrubland
grassland
desert
2 Read and complete.
high – shrubland – forest – vegetation – fertile – drought – scarce – arid – low – poor
a. Trees grow in soil with humidity.
Many trees together form a .
b. Bushes grow in places with soil and
humidity. An area dominated by bushes is a .
c. Grasslands are areas with long periods of . Trees and bushes are because they need water all year round.
d. Deserts do not have much water and the soil is . There is little . Only plants that need little water can live in deserts.
3 Where do these animals live? Explain.
A B
C D
REINFORCEMENT
Name Date