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Lesson 1
" Launch Lab
"
! 15 minutes
Wh ha at t is s a What is a plant?
Reading Guide
A plant often is described as a livingthing that makes its own food, has leaves and stems,
Key Concepts and is green in color. Even with the many different types of plants on Earth, this description
pl la an nt t? ? often holds true. Or does it?
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
• What characteristics are 1 Examinethe photos in the table below.
common to all plants? 1 2 3 4 5 6
• What adaptations have
enabled plant species to
survive Earth’s changing
environments?
• How are plants classified?

Vocabulary
producer p. 298
cuticle p. 299 2 Number from 1to 6 in your Science Journal. Next to each number write yes if you think
cellulose p. 299 the photo is of a plant or no if you think the photo is not of a plant.
vascular tissue p. 300 Think About This
1. Whichphotos do you think are plants? Explainyour choices.
MultilingualeGlossary
2. Visualize each object without the background, and decide if you want to make changes
in your list.
3. KeyConcept What characteristics are common to each plant in these pictures?

! Characteristics
!
You might
of Plants

not think about plants often,

but they are an important part of life on Earth.
"
As you read this lesson, look for the character-
istics that make plants so important to other
organisms.
Cell Structure
!
" "
Plants are made of eukaryotic cells. Recall
that eukaryotic cells have membrane-bound
organelles. Some of a plant cell’s organelles
are shown in Figure 1. A plant cell differs
from an animal cell because it contains chlo-
Why So Successful?
! roplasts and a cell wall. Chloroplasts convert
light energy to chemical energy. The cell
wall provides support and protection. A
This plant cell has parts animal cells don’t have. How mature plant cell also has one or two vacu-
do you think those cellular parts help plants live? What oles that store a watery liquid called sap.
other parts do plants have that enable them to be
successful in so many diverse environments on Earth? Reading Check Describe the structure of Figure 1 Plant cells and animal cells
a plant cell. have many of the same organelles.
296 • Chapter
9 Lesson
1 297
ENGAGE EXPLORE

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