yearly

• Autotrophs


  Organisms that produce their own food, primarily plants
• Vascular plants


  • Possess a transport system to move substances
  • Includes xylem and phloem
• Non-vascular plants


  • Do not possess a transport system
  • Use diffusion and osmosis to absorb nutrients
• Non-vascular plants


  • Liverwort
  • Mosses
• Xylem


  Responsible for the transport of water and nutrients
• Phloem

  Conductive tissue that transports sugars and other products
• The main functions of the root systems are anchoring the plants and absorbing water and inorganic nutrients from the soil
• Root system


  • Anchors the plant
  • Absorbs water and nutrients
• Surface area (S/A) in roots


  Increased by extensive branching<|>Root hair zone<|>Flattened epidermal cells
• Movement of substances in the root

  1. Water moves by osmosis

  2. Mineral ions move by diffusion

  3. Facilitated diffusion and active transport may occur
• Cells of the roots cannot photosynthesize because they do not contain chloroplasts
• Roots carry out aerobic cellular respiration like all living cells
• Shoot system


  • Includes stems and leaves
  • Provides structural support
  • Transport pathway between roots and leaves
• Stem composition


  • Dermal tissue
  • Vascular tissue
  • Ground tissue
• Dermal tissue


  Provides waterproofing and protection
• Ground tissue


  Fills in around vascular tissue
• Vascular bundles


  • Provide structural support
  • Enable transport of materials
• Leaf function


  Absorb sunlight and carbon dioxide<|>Produce glucose via photosynthesis<|>Site of transpiration
• Leaf structure


  • Thin, flat structure for maximum sunlight absorption
  • Transparent epidermis for light penetration
• Mesophyll


  Middle layer of leaf responsible for photosynthesis
• Palisade cells


  • Elongated cells dense with chloroplasts
  • Main photosynthetic cells
• Spongy mesophyll cells


  • Second most important for photosynthesis
  • Irregular shape and distribution
• Gaseous exchange


  Process of exchanging gases through stomata
• Guard cells


  • Control gas exchange and water loss
  • Surround stomata
• Plants carry out cellular respiration as well as photosynthesis
• Oxygen for respiration


  Comes from the by-product of photosynthesis
• Carbon dioxide from respiration


  Used as a reactant in photosynthesis
• Gas exchange structures in plants

  • Large and flat leaves
  • Irregular shape of spongy mesophyll
  • Moist surfaces of cells
• Gaseous exchange in plants

  • Stomata
  • Lenticels
• Stomata


  Found in the epidermis, bordered by guard cells
• Stomata can open and close to regulate gas exchange
• Stomata opening and closing

  • Depends on light
  • Temperature
  • Carbon dioxide levels
• Lenticel


  Pores for gaseous exchange in woody parts of plants
• Lenticels appear as small dots to the naked eye
• Diffusion of gases through lenticels is relatively slow
• Students investigate the structure of autotrophs through the examination of a variety of materials
• Materials for investigating plant structure

  • Dissected plant materials
  • Microscopic structures
  • Imaging technologies
• Autotrophs


  Self-feeders that can produce their own organic compounds for energy from inorganic sources
• Heterotrophs


  Other-feeders that have to consume other organisms to get organic compounds
• Photoautotrophs


  Use light in the process of photosynthesis to fix carbon into organic compounds