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Science 4: Plant Structures 33 Views
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Description:
How do plants work? We tried asking the willow tree in our back yard, but it's giving us the silent treatment.
Transcript
- 00:03
[Dino and Coop singing]
- 00:12
Plants seem pretty simple, right? [Plant blowing in the wind]
- 00:15
After all, they just kinda shoot out of the ground and sit around all day. [Plant appears]
- 00:18
Sounds like the easiest life ever.
- 00:21
Sign us up.
Full Transcript
- 00:22
Oh, but before we sign up, maybe we should dig a little deeper into the secret life of [Plant is dug up]
- 00:25
plants…
- 00:26
As it turns out there's a lot going on that we can't see.
- 00:29
If we take a look under the hood there are all sorts of intricate structures that keep
- 00:33
plants growing and living.
- 00:34
Let's start at the bottom with the roots.
- 00:36
One of their main jobs is to pull water and minerals from the ground, then deliver it [Water and minerals travel up the roots]
- 00:40
to the stems and leaves of the plant.
- 00:42
They also give support to the plant by anchoring it to the ground, meaning it won't just fall [Anchor appears]
- 00:46
over or blow away due to the slightest breeze. [Plant leans over in the wind]
- 00:48
Which is both good for the plant, and good for anyone who would rather not be hit in
- 00:53
the face by hundreds of plants on a windy day. [Man is hit by plants and falls over]
- 00:56
Next comes the stem.
- 00:57
It keeps the plant upright once it shoots above ground...
- 01:00
…and it's also in charge of transporting water, minerals, and sugar through the plant,
- 01:04
like a miniature highway system. [Water, minerals and sugar travelling through the plant]
- 01:06
And luckily, the commute from the roots to the leaves is pretty short, so there's never [Traffic jam on the highway]
- 01:10
any fear of getting stuck in a huge traffic jam!
- 01:13
The stem itself is made up of two internal structures that move all the water, minerals,
- 01:16
and sugar around…they go by xylem and phloem. [Arrows point to the different transportation systems]
- 01:21
The xylem moves the water and minerals up from the roots all the way up to the leaves…
- 01:24
…while the phloem moves sugars downward.
- 01:27
And you might be wondering: where did those sugars come from?
- 01:30
Well, as cute as it would be, there isn't some kindly old granny that hands out sugar [Woman dropping sugar cubes into a plant]
- 01:34
cubes to plants.
- 01:35
The plants actually make the sugars all by themselves, with their leaves.
- 01:40
How?
- 01:41
Through photosynthesis, a process that also helps the plant to get rid of oxygen and take [The sun appears]
- 01:45
in carbon dioxide.
- 01:46
…Hm.
- 01:47
We're not sure we want to be a plant anymore…we kinda like oxygen… [Womans head on a plant can't breathe]
- 01:51
Another important part of plants is the flower.
- 01:53
Its function is to attract pollinators, which are important in plant reproduction. [Bee lands on a sunflower]
- 01:57
Unfortunately, flowers do also on occasion attract shear-wielding gardeners. [Man appears with shears]
- 02:01
It's not quite a perfect system.
- 02:03
And last but not least, plants also rely on fruits and seeds. [An apple tree]
- 02:06
The seed itself produces offspring…
- 02:08
…while the fruit protects the seeds. [Apple holding a sword]
- 02:10
So next time your parents go to the grocery store, be sure to ask them to pick up some
- 02:14
fresh "Plant Offspring Protectors."
- 02:16
Mmm…sounds delicious. [Parents look confused]
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