1. PRACTICAL 1
Basic needs of plants
Objective
To determine the basic needs of plants sunlight, air and water.
Hypothesis
Plant needs sun light as a basic needs and to make food.
Introduction/ theoretical knowledge
Plants needs sunlight, air, water and nutrients to survive. Plants needs sunlight when
photosynthesis process occur. In addition plants also needs carbon dioxide and water
to complete the process. Plants make their own food. Plants produce their own food.
That is why we call them producers. But it takes energy to produce food. The energy is
from the sun! They use that energy to produce food. Plants need this
food to live and grow.
Problem : Do Plants need Sunshine
Materials
Growing plant with large leaves
Vaseline
Black construction paper
Paper clips
Procedure A:
1.Green plant was placed in well-lighted place where it can be seen without being
handled by class members.
2. The both sides of several leaves were covered carefully with Vaseline.
3. These leaves were observed each day and compared thaem with uncoated leaves.
The colour and freshness of the leaves were observed.

2. Procedure B:
1. The pattern on one side of a folded piece of black construction paper was cut out.
2. The pattern was clipped on the leaf and left it attach for several days.
3. After several days the construction paper was removed and the results were
observed.
Results:
Observation Inferences
Procedure A The leaf will die soon. The leaf does not receive
air
Procedure B The leaf will turn to
yellowish color.
Light is need for plants to
carry out photosynthesis
process. As the leaf was
covered it cannot
Questions:
1.What would happen if only the topside were coated? The bottom side?
If only the top side were coated the leaf will be in change in yellowish colour because
the chlorophyll does not absorb the sunlight to do photosynthesis. If the bottom side
were coated there will no change in colour or to the leaf because chlorophyll are not
found at the bottom. Otherwise top of leaf is not coated and help to do photosynthesis.If
only the topside were coated the leaf will be in yellowish colour and if only the bottom
side were coated the leaf will not be yellowish colour.
2.Would leaf continue to die if the coating were removed after one day?
No, it won’t die. The leaf still can survive if the coating were removed after one day.
When the leaf is under the sunlight again, it can still produce food with the help of
chlorophyll and it can make photosynthesis process. In other hand, the plant also can
get back its energy in ATP form by absorb the sun light.

3. 3.What would happen if only half the leaf were covered? ( Half of the top side and
half of the bottom side? )
If only half of the top side has been covered, the part which is covered it will be in
yellowish color. This is because that specific part unable to carry out photosynthesis. At
the same time the half of the leaf that has not been covered will be green in color as it
able to do photosynthesis with the presence of sunlight because the chlorophylls are
still alive which are pigments green in colour. .
4.What happen to the plant leaf after the mask is removed? Observed for several
days.
After remove the mask the plant leaf looks yellow in colour due to unable to carry ot
photosynthesis and cannot make food. After several days, the plant’s leaf turns healthy
again. With the help of sunlight, the leaf receives green pigments again and it can make
the photosynthesis process to make food

4. Hypothesis : plant needs water as basic needs.
Problem : Can Plants Live Without Water ?
Materials :
Bean seeds
Two small flower pots
Water
Soil, humus
Procedure :
1.Some been seeds were planted in each of the flower pots.
2.Both plants were placed in sunshine.
3.Plant ‘A’ was water each day.
4.Plant ‘B’ was not water.
Results:
Observation Inferences
Plant ‘A’ The seeds were grows and
formed a healthy plant.
This seed gets nutrients by
the transportation process
based on the flow of water.
Plant ‘B’ The seeds do not grow. As this seeds are not
watered they do not receives
water. As a result they do
not grow
Questions ;
1.Would the same results be possible with different kind of seeds?
No. different seeds have different characteristics. Such as, thickening of seed coats,
Types of the plant (monocotyledon or dicotyledon) or breeds is based on the result also.

5. 2.Is it possible to give plant too much water?
No. If the plants is given too much of water they will wilt. They breath through their roots
and when there is too much water, the roots cannot take in gases. It is actually slowly
suffocating when there is too much water for a plant.
3.How can farmer tell if a plant is receiving enough water? Not enough water?
Too much water?
The farmer can tell if a plant receiving enough water by seeing the freshness and color
of the leaf. If the plant receive enough water its color will be green. Other than that , the
farmer feel the top of the soil before they water the plant. If the soil is damp, the plant
does not need more water. This is another way knowing that plant receive enough
water. If the soil surface is dry it means that the plant is does not enough water. If the
plant receiving not enough water the color of the leaf will turn into yellow. At last, if the
plant receiving too much of water when the soil over the limit of damp soil . this makes
the leaf will turn into dark yellow and wilt.

6. Hyphothesis : Plants need air as their basic needs to stay alive.
Problem: Can Plant Live Without Air?
Materials:
Bean seeds
Two jars and two plastic cups
Soil , humus
Cotton
Water
Procedure A :
1.Bean seed were planted in jars.
2.Both soil were fairly watered fairly well. When air bubbles cease to rise the air has
been expelled from the soil.
3.The first jar was capped. This cuts off the air supply to the plant.
4.The second second plant was kept moist by watering as needed.
Procedure B :
1. The two cups were filled with water.
2. On one, a cotton pad and some beans on the cotton were placed. This kept the
seeds moist.
3. The seeds were dropped into the water of the second cup thus eliminating the air.
4. The temperature and light were kept the same for both cups.

7. Results:
Observation Inferences
Jars/Cups 1 2 1 2
Procedure
A
The seeds
does not
grow.
The seeds
grows and
looks
healthy.
The seed do not
grow due to cuts off
the air supply to the
seed.
The seeds to grows
due to enough of air
supply.
Procedure
B
The seeds
grow.
The seeds
does not
grows.
The seeds were
grow due to The
continuous air
supply.
The seed do not
grow due to the
elimination of supply
of the air.
Questions:
1.What other ways might air be eliminated from the cup?
The other way might air be eliminated from the cup is by using vacuum pump. This is
because all the gas molecules which is fulfilled the cup can be easily eliminated by
using the vacuum pump. To ensure that no more air is left inside the cup, the cup
should be capped.
2.Is too much air ever a problem to the farmer?
Plants need to breathe, to make the respiration process is complete and have a fresh
air. It isn't necessary to have constantly changing air, but lightly moving air can often
make a difference in the plants growth and health.
3.Would the same results occur with different types of seeds?
Yes. This is because all the seeds needs air to breath. Therefore the same results occur
with different types of seeds.
4.Plants make their food but they do need a supply of mineral. Choose three
minerals and describe what happens to plant growing without them.

8. The main three minerals that plant needs are potassium, calcium, and phosphorus.
Plants need potassium to balance water in cells. Without potassium the cells in the
plants could burst because of the unbalancing water in the cells and the plant may die.
Thus, Calcium is an essential plant nutrient. It is required for various structural roles in
the cell wall and membranes. This is because calcium is also needed for the growth of
young shoot and root. Further more , Plants also need Phosphorus for respiration, cell
division and membranes. If the plant does not have the phosphorus mineral, the plant
would not grow because the cell division process could not occur.
5.Animals and plants need food. Give two reasons why animal and plants need
food.
All living things in the world need food. Animals and plants need food to get energy, to
grow and to stay healthy. Plants need food to grow and as it is an producer it plays an
important role to stabilize the ecosystem. The photosynthesis process helps the plants
to get nutrients and vitamins to stay healthy.
Conclusion
A plant mainly needs sun light, water, and air as their basic needs to survive. This three
basic needs fulfill a plant photosynthesis process and respiratory system.
Discussion
The experiment that we carry out based on the basic needs of the plants benefits me to
learn new things and get new experience. Sivaneswaran and myself , Pingalan were
carry out this experiment in pair. First of all , we used veseline to cover the leaf of the
plant. After the leaf wee covered we could understand from the observation that plants
need air to survive. The Vaseline makes the air does not reach the leaf and made the
leaf wilt. When the leaf of the plant were covered by construction paper it made the
plant do turn into yellow in color due to the absence of the sun light. Other than that ,
seeds were placed in two different pots which have the same amount of soil and humus
in different condition. One is by pouring water to the seeds daily and another one is left
without water. At last , the seeds which were watered every day grows healthily
whereas the seeds without watered does not grow. By this I learn that plants need water
to survive. Next , we had two jars where the air was eliminated in one of the jar whereas
another jar was kept moist. Other than that some seeds were placed in two other cups
where kept the seeds moist in one cup on cotton and puts the seeds in water in another

9. cup by eliminating the air. The seeds with eliminating the air in jars and cups does not
grows whereby the seeds which were kept moist and let it in the air grows healthily. By
this we learn that plants need air to survive.
REFERENCES
Brach , A. 4.16.2004.Ask A Scientist.
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February 2009.
Carter, S. 3 November 2004. Photosynthesis.
http://biology.clc.uc.edu/Courses/bio104/photosyn.htm. Accessed on 7
February 2009.
Animal Digestion (2004).
http://www.kidcyber.com.au/topics/anidigestion.htm. Acessed on 7 February
2009.
Do different types of water affect plant growth? 2005.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Do_different_types_of_water_affect_plant_growth
. Accessed on 9 February 2009.
Questions and Answers for the Game "Do You Know?"
http://www.state.nj.us/pinelands/infor/curric/pinecur/dyk.htm. Acessed on 9
February 2009.
PDF eBooks. (2006). Adapted from the 2006 Grade 4 Science Immersion Unit
http://www.fastplants.org/pdf/activities/producerpower.pdf. Acessed on 9 February
2009.