Living Organisms: Plants
- Botany: The study of plants.
- All plants are photosynthetic autotrophs.
- Chloroplasts aid plants in photosynthesis using a pigment called chlorophyll that transfers
light energy into chemical energy. The plant then uses the energy to make sugars, which store
the energy for later use in respiration.
- Plants are made of eukaryotic cells with cell walls surrounding the cell membrane for
protection against cell lysis, large vacuoles near the center of the cell to store water, and
chloroplasts in specialized cells within the plant body.
- Plants form the base of all terrestrial food webs.
- Plants are divided into groups based on differing characteristics
- The presence of vascular tissue: Vascular tissue consists of specialized cells joined
into tubes that aid the plant in moving water and nutrients throughout the plant body.
- Nonvascular plants lack vascular tissue.
- Vascular plants have two basic types of vascular tissue: xylem (which carries
water) and phloem (which carries nutrients).
- Vascular plants can be further divided based on the means of reproduction:
○ Seedless vascular plants reproduce using spores (ex. fern).
○ Gymnosperms are vascular plants which store seeds in cones (ex. spruce).
○ Angiosperms are vascular plants which store seeds in fruits which develop
from flowers (ex. daisy).
* Non-vascular plants depend on osmosis to take in water and diffusion to move other important
substances (sugars) to the cells while vascular plants have a system of tubes and vessels which allow
them to transport water and nutrients throughout the plant body.
- Respiration: The process by which plants transform the stored energy of sugars into the quick
energy of ATP by obtaining oxygen (from environment and/or photosynthesis) and sugars
(from photosynthesis).
- Plants produce hormones which regulate their growth and development and may control
responses to stimuli.
- Auxins: Hormones that allow for elongation of the cell.
- Cytokinens: Hormones that promote rapid cell division.
- Ethylene: A hormone that promotes fruit ripening.
- Plant tropisms are plant growth responses to external stimuli. These responses are made
possible by hormones such as auxin.
- Phototropism: A plant’s response to light.
- Gravitropism/Geotropism: A plant’s response to gravity.
- Thigmotropism: A response to constant contact.
- Some plants may use asexual reproduction through vegetative propagation, where a new plant
is produced from an existing vegetative structure.
- Non-vascular plants and seedless vascular plants have sperm and egg on separate structures.
- Botany: The study of plants.
- All plants are photosynthetic autotrophs.
- Chloroplasts aid plants in photosynthesis using a pigment called chlorophyll that transfers
light energy into chemical energy. The plant then uses the energy to make sugars, which store
the energy for later use in respiration.
- Plants are made of eukaryotic cells with cell walls surrounding the cell membrane for
protection against cell lysis, large vacuoles near the center of the cell to store water, and
chloroplasts in specialized cells within the plant body.
- Plants form the base of all terrestrial food webs.
- Plants are divided into groups based on differing characteristics
- The presence of vascular tissue: Vascular tissue consists of specialized cells joined
into tubes that aid the plant in moving water and nutrients throughout the plant body.
- Nonvascular plants lack vascular tissue.
- Vascular plants have two basic types of vascular tissue: xylem (which carries
water) and phloem (which carries nutrients).
- Vascular plants can be further divided based on the means of reproduction:
○ Seedless vascular plants reproduce using spores (ex. fern).
○ Gymnosperms are vascular plants which store seeds in cones (ex. spruce).
○ Angiosperms are vascular plants which store seeds in fruits which develop
from flowers (ex. daisy).
* Non-vascular plants depend on osmosis to take in water and diffusion to move other important
substances (sugars) to the cells while vascular plants have a system of tubes and vessels which allow
them to transport water and nutrients throughout the plant body.
- Respiration: The process by which plants transform the stored energy of sugars into the quick
energy of ATP by obtaining oxygen (from environment and/or photosynthesis) and sugars
(from photosynthesis).
- Plants produce hormones which regulate their growth and development and may control
responses to stimuli.
- Auxins: Hormones that allow for elongation of the cell.
- Cytokinens: Hormones that promote rapid cell division.
- Ethylene: A hormone that promotes fruit ripening.
- Plant tropisms are plant growth responses to external stimuli. These responses are made
possible by hormones such as auxin.
- Phototropism: A plant’s response to light.
- Gravitropism/Geotropism: A plant’s response to gravity.
- Thigmotropism: A response to constant contact.
- Some plants may use asexual reproduction through vegetative propagation, where a new plant
is produced from an existing vegetative structure.
- Non-vascular plants and seedless vascular plants have sperm and egg on separate structures.
