The Global STEM School
Botany Coursebook
Student Edition
Acta Non Verba www.dexterschool.org The Plant World
What is Botany?
Botany is the scientific study of plants!
Why does Botany matter? Look outside, what do you see? Plants! We live in a plant world called Earth. From the air you breathe to the food you eat - plants make your life possible! By better understanding how plants work we can improve our lives.
Imagine... Look outside and imagine all of the plants suddenly disappeared. Write a few sentences or draw a picture below about why this would be a bad thing.
Botany The Plant World
What is a plant? A plant is a living organism that grows in the ground, usually has leaves or flowers, and needs sun and water to survive. They come in all shapes and sizes, but most plants contain a green pigment called chlorophyll.
Circle the ones you think are plants:
Botany The Plant World
Not a Plant Plants usually have flowers or leaves, need sun and water to survive, and most have chlorophyll.
There are a several organisms you might think are plants, but aren’t!
Corals Colorals are underwater animals with a hard exterior skeletal structure. They do not make their own food - instead they capture food and eat it through tiny mouths! Algae Although green, algae do not have roots, stems, and leaves. They’re considered bacteria, not plants and can only live in water.
Fungi Fungi (mushrooms) have a way of getting food that’s completely different than plants. In fact, they’re more closely related to animals than to plants!
Botany The Plant World
Plant vs Not a Plant Activity Go outside or look through the window and draw three examples of plants vs non-plants. Label your drawings!
Plant Non-Plant
Botany The Plant World
What is Chlorophyll? Chlorophyll is a chemical that gives plants their green color and allows the plant to use the energy from sunlight through a process called photosynthesis.
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Use a smartphone camera to view a 3D diagram of chlorophyll. The molecule is made of magnesium (green), nitrogen (blue), oxygen(red), hydrogen (gray), and carbon (black).
In the table below, count how many of each element is in chlorophyll.
Element Count
Carbon (black)
Hydrogen (grey)
Magnesium (green)
Nitrogen (blue)
Oxygen (red)
Botany The Plant World
Chemical Formulas
Chemical formulas are expressions that shows the elements in a chemical compound or molecule. For example, H2O. This expression represents a water molecule which is made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom!
C55H72MgN4O5 This is the chemical formula for chlorophyll. The small numbers indicate how many atoms of each element are present in chlorophyll. Look back at your table and see if you were able to count the right number of each element.
Element Abbreviation
Carbon C
Hydrogen H
Magnesium Mg
Nitrogen N
Oxygen O
Rewrite the chemical formula for chlorophyll:
Botany The Plant World
Why are most plants green? Almost all plants contain chlorophyll and it’s this chlorophyll that is responsible for the green appearance of plants!
The plant is filled with chlorophyll that absorbs the blue and red wavelengths, but reflects the green light.
Rabbit Hole Warning: It’s not exactly that plants are green, but that’s how we perceive them because green is the wavelength of light that plants don’t absorb.
Botany The Plant World
What is Photosynthesis? Photosynthesis is the chemical process that plants use to make food out of sunlight. Remember our old friend chlorophyll? Chlorophyll is what helps the plant absorb the sunlight.
Plants take in water and carbon dioxide and use energy from the sun to turn them into food (a sugar called glucose). During the process, water is turned into oxygen and released into the air. As a result, plants produce oxygen that we all breathe!
Botany The Plant World
History of Photosynthesis Essay Photosynthesis was discovered by Jan Ingenhousz in the late 1700’s after earlier experiments rejected ancient ideas about plant growth. Write at least four sentences below that answers the following: When and where was he born? What was his profession? How did he discover photosynthesis? What other important historical events took place while he was alive?
Botany The Plant World
What makes up a Plant? Plants are made up of six basic parts; roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds.
Roots Roots anchor the plants into the soil and absorb nutrients and water. Stems Stems support the upper part of the plant and act as a transport system for nutrients, water, sugar, and starches. Leaves Leaves are the parts of the plant where photosynthesis usually occurs - where food for the plant is made. Flowers Flowers are the reproductive part of the plants. Most flowers have four main parts: petals, stamen, pistil, and sepals. Fruits Fruits are the fleshy substances that surround seeds. They protect the seeds and attract animals to eat them to help with seed dispersal. Seeds Seeds contain plant material that can develop into another plant. This material is called an embryo. Seeds are covered with a protective seed coat called a cotyledon which also provides food for the baby plant.
Botany The Plant World
Plant Parts Review Plants are made up of six basic parts; roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds. Rewrite the definitions of the plant parts below:
Roots
Stems
Leaves
Flowers
Fruits
Seeds
Botany The Plant World
What makes up a Plant? Remember that plants are made up of roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds. Check out this tomato plant!
Botany The Plant World
Plant Labeling Label the tomato plant correctly:
Botany