Plants need chemicals called minerals to stay healthy and grow.

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

A producer is an organism that makes its own food.

Carbohydrates are a type of nutrient found in foods. Sugar and starch are examples of carbohydrates.

Plant nutrition

Science

Photosynthesis

Adaptations of plants for photosynthesis: absorbing light

Adaptations of plants for photosynthesis: gas exchange and stomata

Pupils will learn about differences in the cell structures of eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms.

Pupils learned about gas exchange in humans, and cellular respiration in all living organisms uses glucose as a fuel to provide energy for life processes.

This unit covers photosynthesis, including how plants produce carbohydrates, absorb water and minerals, and the role of leaf stomata in gas exchange. It highlights the importance of photosynthesis in sustaining life on Earth and explores the adaptations of leaves for photosynthesis.

Plant nutrition and photosynthesis

In a chemical reaction, substances are broken down and react to form new substances.

Photosynthesis is a series of chemical reactions by which producers make their own food.

Carbon dioxide is a compound made of carbon and oxygen that is a gas at room temperature and a reactant in photosynthesis.

Glucose is a sugar (carbohydrate) produced by photosynthesis.

Photosynthesis takes place in chloroplasts, which are small structures inside some plant cells.

A feature that helps an organism to function and survive.

A green substance inside chloroplasts that absorbs light for photosynthesis.

The surface area of the top side of a leaf is the area through which light can be absorbed.

Gas exchange in plants is when photosynthesising leaves take in carbon dioxide gas and release waste oxygen gas.

Cells next to stomata that can change shape to open and close the stomata.

Diffusion is caused by the continuous random movement of molecules of a gas (or of a liquid).

When more molecules of a gas (or of a liquid) diffuse from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration.

Plant nutrition and photosynthesis

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