Lesson 11: Nutrients Help Plants

Let's think about our original question: "Will plants in organic material grow differently than those grown in inorganic material?"

​Let's look back at our predictions from Lesson 5. What data have we gathered so far? 

Today, we are completing our data collection and will combine our data to discover how our plants compared.

1. Get back into your groups that we had for Lesson 5 and collect the supplies you need for today's lesson.
2. Do your final measurements, pictures, etc.
3. See if you can observe anything new, even if it wasn't something you were tracking all along.
4. How many groups had plants that were healthier in the potting soil? The perlite?
5. Why was the potting soil a healthier medium for plant growth than perlite?
6. Complete pages in the PDF on your blog.
7. Root Observation (with teacher support).
8. Draw plants & take photos/videos.
9. Type a paragraph explaining the conclusions we came up with after combining all of the data.

BIG IDEA 9:
Nutrients in the soil (or water) are used by plants and other organisms. Scavengers and decomposers break down organic material into matter plants can absorb.

Vocabulary:

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Read about Making Healthy Soil with your partner(s).

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Reflection/Synthesis:
Answer the following questions in your blog post. Remember to have at least one follow-up sentence for each question, when possible.

1. ​How do scavengers improve soil?
2. How do fungi and bacteria improve soil?
3. What matter was in the potting soil that made it more nutrient-rich than the perlite?
4. Why should plants grown in decomposed organic material be healthier than those grown in perlite?
5. Is an earthworm one of the organisms that moves matter?
6. What other organisms help to move matter?
7. Does matter only move to plants through soil nutrients?

Answers:

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