Importance Of Plants

PART A: Topic Overview

What are plants?

Plants are vital for human survival and important for human well-being. Everything depends on plants. Plants are alive and have needs just like people and animals. Plants need air, water, nutrients, and sunlight so they can stay alive. One characteristic that distinguishes plants from most other living things is the ability to make their own food. This process is called photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is when plants use energy from the sun to grow and reproduce. Oxygen is a byproduct of photosynthesis (Center for Informal Science Education [CISE], n.d.).

What are the parts of a plant? What is their function?

There are four basic parts of a plant – the leaf, stem, flower and root. Each of these parts

Plants use sunlight in the same way food is used by humans. People and animals get their food by eating it. Plants make their own food by using air, water, nutrients and energy from the sun (Rissman, 2009, p.5). While plants take care of their survival, it is worth noting that if the habitat changes in anyway this may present a challenge to the life of a plant.

Why are plants important?

Plants are an important part of the Earth’s ecosystem. During photosynthesis, plants convert carbon dioxide into oxygen, which humans and other animals need to stay alive (CISE, n.d.). Oxygen is an important part to life on Earth. Plants help the environment and people in many different ways – directly and indirectly. In addition to making oxygen, they also provide food, habitats for animals, fabric, help make and preserve the soil and medicine (Waldron, 2014; Hoffman, 2009). PART B: Interview

Each plant has observable parts (structures) that serve special function in growth, survival and reproduction. Billy was able to identify common features of the plant but struggled to elaborate further on what they do for the plant (ACSSU017, ACARA, 2015). With specific reference to the function of flowers, Billy was able to acknowledge it usefulness for animals but ignores its usefulness for people and the plant itself. Its reproductive nature, the process of pollination and how seeds are dispersed are concepts that are incomplete (CISE, n.d.).

The idea that nectar keeps plants alive is an “alternative concept” that Billy holds based on his own experiences. Through discussions, planned experiences and additional questioning, Billy will arrive at a “scientifically correct idea” (Campbell, 2012, p.30). Billy mentions that “nectar keeps flowers alive” suggests that a part of the flower is alive but whether or not he is able to classify things in the environment into living and non-living is a concept to be further explored. His understanding of why bees visit the flower is “pre-theoretical” and is “developed through the sensory aspect of the experience rather than from a systematic, analytical viewpoint” (Campbell, 2012, p.