Why do some plants produce flowers?

Flowers are an adaptation that help plants reproduce in two different ways.

• Draw a sketch of each way flowers help plants to reproduce. 

1)  Flowers smell good, so insects are attracted to them.  The insect gets covered in pollen from one plant and spreads it to another plant, which helps the plant to reproduce. ​

2)  A plant’s flowers grow into its fruit.  Fruits are tasty and sweet.  Mammals and birds like to eat fruit!  Once a mammal or bird eats the fruit, and walks or flies away, the seeds of the fruit are carried to a new location.  When the mammal defecates, the seeds are left on the ground to grow into a new plant. 

A 4th grader saw this diagram in her Science textbook.   She knew that the abbreviations were nutrients.  Ca=Calcium, Mg = Magnesium, K= Potassium, N=Nitrogen.  

Explain the diagram, in your own words. 

How does adding fertilizer (nutrients) change the traits of the food we eat?

This diagram shows that the plant grown in soil with more nutrients has more nutrients in its roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruit.  It is difficult to test for nutrients, but how could you design an experiment to see if adding plant food to soil makes plants grow taller?  Sketch this experiment in your notebook.