HOW ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES AFFECT GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF FLOWERING PLANTS |
6.L.5B.4 Plan and conduct controlled scientific investigations to determine how changes in environmental factors (such as air, water, light, minerals, or space) affect the growth and development of a flowering plant. |
Essential Knowledge
It is essential for students to plan and carry out the investigation of the effect of environmental factors on plant. Therefore, students should be conducting investigations to determine ways that air, water, light, minerals, or space affect flowering plants. Students should select one factor in order to determine an independent variable. For example, a student could choose to change the amount of water given to a certain species of plant. For the teacher - due to limits in the amount of class time available, it is not essential that every student tests each factor. Students can test one factor and share data with others in the class. This should provide all students with an opportunity to make direct observations as well as draw conclusions from the data collected by others. Extended Knowledge • The students can review collected data to predict the ideal growth conditions for a variety of plants. Students can compare those predicted conditions with the actual conditions that the plant experiences in its natural environment. Assessment Guidance The objective of this indicator is to plan and conduct controlled scientific investigations to determine how changes in environmental factors (such as air, water, light, minerals, or space) affect the growth and development of a flowering plant. Therefore, the primary focus of assessment should be for students to plan and conduct controlled scientific investigations to answer questions, test hypotheses, and develop explanations: (1) formulate scientific questions and testable hypotheses, (2) identify materials, procedures, and variables, (3) select and use appropriate tools or instruments to collect qualitative and quantitative data, and (4) record and represent data in an appropriate form in order to demonstrate the effects of environmental factors on plants. This could include but is not limited to an experiment to determine which key environmental factor (air, water, light, minerals, or space) has the greatest effect on the growth and development of a flowering plant. In addition to planning and conducting scientific investigations, students should be asked to ask questions, analyze and interpret data, use mathematics and computational thinking, engage in argument from evidence, construct explanations, develop and use models, obtain, evaluate, and communicate information, and construct devices or design solutions. |
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