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Grow It 3-5 / Week 08 / Wednesday
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Week 08 · Traits and Variation

Wednesday

The environment matters
// Why no two bean plants are exactly alike
⏱ about 15 min

Wednesday: The Environment Matters

Rocket compares two bean plants from the same seed pack. One is tall and thin and leans toward the window. The other is short and sturdy.

"They are siblings," he says. "Why so different?"

Raven looks at where each one sat. "What do you notice about their spots?"

Nova hovers between the cups. "Seeds are not the only story," she says. "Think about what each plant lived in."

Traits and the environment

The environment is everything around a living thing.

Light, water, soil and space are all part of a plant's environment.

The environment can change the traits a plant develops.

Many traits depend on both the parents and the environment.

EnvironmentWhat can happen to the plant
too little waterA plant that is normally tall stays short and stunted.
dim window lightStems stretch tall and thin and lean toward the light.
crowded seedlingsSeedlings compete with each other for what they need.

Light from a window is often not enough for strong seedlings.

Plants on a windowsill tend to grow too tall, with thin, bent stems.

Remember your light and shade test? You saw the environment at work!

CAUSE AND EFFECT
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
A tall kind of bean plant gets too little water. What may happen?
A seedling sits in dim light. How might its stem grow?
Twenty seedlings share one tiny cup. What happens?

Rocket's two beans

Rocket's two plants came from the same seed pack.

  • Plant A sat far from the window. It grew tall and thin and leaned.
  • Plant B sat under bright light. It grew short and sturdy.
Rocket's plants had the same parents. What made them grow differently? Type one word.
WHY THIS EXERCISEThe amount of light, part of the environment, changed how each one grew.
StatementTrue or false?
The environment can change how a plant grows.?
Only parents decide every trait.?
Too little water can make a plant stunted.?
Crowded seedlings compete with each other.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEParents pass on traits, and the environment shapes them too.
HOW DIM LIGHT CHANGES A SEEDLING
  • ?A seedling sits far from a window.
  • ?Its stem stretches toward the light.
  • ?The stem grows tall, thin and bent.
  • ?It gets only a little light.
WHY THIS EXERCISEDim light makes a stem stretch and lean, a trait shaped by the environment.
Safety first
Move your bean cup with two hands so it does not tip.
Wash your hands if you touch the soil.
Try it
Look at your bean plant's stem. Is it straight or leaning?
Which way does it lean? Write it in your plant log.

Super detective work! Tomorrow we sort traits: inherited, shaped by the environment, or both.

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