PLANT

NUTRI TI ON
Cambridge IGCSE Biology-
Y9
Chapter 6
Dr. Fatima Siddiqui
SYLLABUS
OUTLINE
 LEAVES-THE
PLANT
NUTRIOTIONIST
TRANSVERSE SECTION OF A LEAF
Concept Check:-
Identify the palisade cells, the spongy mesophyll cells and the
cells of the epidermis. In which of these would you expect
photosynthesis to occur:
a most rapidly
b least rapidly
c not at all?
Explain answer to above mentioned question.
In some plants, the stomata close for a period at about midday.
Suggest some possible advantages and disadvantages of this
to the plant.
Guard cells regulate
opening
and closing of stomata
Guard cells – on either side of stoma – control opening and closing
associated with transpiration and gas exchange.
Usually open during the day and closed at night
Guard cells change shape to control this:
potassium conc. in the guard cell vacuoles increases in the
light, lowers the water potential of the cell sap
Water moves into guard cells from surrounding cells by osmosis
Guard cells turgor pressure increases, and they swell and bend
Pore is open
In dark potassium ions leave the guard cell, water potential inside rises then
surrounding epidermal cells, so water leaves the guard cells by osmosis
Cells become flaccid and collapse, stomata close.
 LEAF
ADAPTATIONS
P4 Vol 1 Booklet Q5 -

0610/42/M/J/19 (Part
c)
 LESSON 2
Lesson Objectives
PHOTOSYNTHESI
S
CHLOROPHYLL-
THE PLANT
POWER
STATION
EQUATION FOR
PHOTOSYNTHE
SIS
ENJOY THE VI DEO
REINFORCEMENT PRATICE:-

P4 Vol 1 Booklet Q5 - 0610/42/M/J/19 (part a, b. d)

LESSON 3
 USE OF
GLUCOSE
 Magnesium

● Magnesium has an important role

in photosynthesis because it forms the central atom of
chlorophyll. Therefore, without sufficient amounts of
magnesium, plants begin to degrade the chlorophyll in the
old leaves.
Nitrogen (N) –

is needed for vegetative

growth, to make amino
acid, amino acids are built
into proteins, proteins are
enzymes and also proteins are
needed to make new cells and
tissues for growth repair etc.
( nitrates easily leached out)

Nitrogen is the most important

nutrient.

Deficiency signs –

Stunted growth, weak stem &

yellowing of lower leaves.

Yellowing is called Chlorosis

ON/19/41 Q# 2 (a)
Question: What substances does a green plant need to take in, to make:
i. Sugar
ii. Proteins?
Question: Outline the subsequent use and
storage of the carbohydrates made in
photosynthesis
• Once this sugar is made, it can be stored as energy (food) that the
plant uses for growth and repair. Plants also use the energy from
nutrients in the soil along with glucose to grow and develop leaves,
flowers, and fruits.

• Glucose is a carbohydrate, which is simply a molecule containing

carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Smaller glucose molecules can build
bigger carbohydrates like cellulose or starch.
• Similar to a human skeleton, cellulose is the main component of plant
cell walls that help strengthen the plant. Humans can’t digest cellulose,
but the fiber found in cellulose-heavy foods like celery and broccoli aids
with digestion and can lower the risk of diseases like cancer. These
strong fibers are also used to make clothes and paper. Animals like
cows, horses, and sheep can digest cellulose, so it makes sense that
they eat grass for quick energy and nutrients.

• Plants can also convert glucose into starch, which is a larger

carbohydrate molecule that can store its energy. Humans break down
starches found in foods like potatoes and rice into glucose, and it, in
turn, gives them energy.

• And not only does a plant produce food animals need for their energy
as a result of photosynthesis, but it also releases oxygen as a
byproduct through its stomata into the atmosphere.
QUESTION: By which process mineral ions are absorbed in
plants?

Ans: Active Transport (Define)

Group Activity: Extempore
“Break the myth. Glucose is not the major photosynthetic
product as quoted in most textbooks” and “What sort of
carbohydrates plant can make?”
REINFORCEMENT:-

• P4 Vol 1 Chap 6 Booklet Q1 - 0610/41/M/J/17 (In class)

(Importance of minerals)
1.
• P4 Vol 1 Chap 6 Booklet Q2 - 0610/41/O/N/17 (as an
assignment) (Importance of minera
LET’S
BEGIN
 INVESTIGATE THE NECESSITY OF
THESE FACTORS IN PHOTOSYNTHESIS:-

 Chlorophyll

 Light

 Carbon Dioxide
 CONTROLLED EXPERIMENT
• A scientific test in which you keep all the variables constant except for
the one you want to test (the one you change is called independent variable)​
• The variable that you measure is called dependent variable.

When conducting an experiment, a control is an element that remains

unchanged or unaffected by other variables. It is used as a benchmark or a
point of comparison against which other test results are measured

In the upcoming experiments the plant is given everything it needs, Except one
substance being tested for. Another plant is used at the same time. This is a
control. The control is given everything it needs, including the substance being
tested for. The important thing is that the control has all the substances it needs,
while the experimental plant/ leaf is lacking that one substance.
 DESTARCHING PLANTS
• It is very important that the leaves you are testing shouldn’t have any starch in
them at the beginning of the investigation.

• If they did, and you found that the leaves contained starch at the end of the
investigation, you could not be sure that they had been photosynthesizing. The
starch might have been made before the investigation began.

• So, before doing any of these experiments, you must destarch the plants

• To destarch, put the leaf/plant in a dark cupboard for at least 24 hours. No light
means no photosynthesis means no glucose produced that means no starch
will be produced and stored further in the leaf. However, plant still needs to
respire so it will break all the previously stored starch back into glucose to use
for respiration… No more starch will be left.

• To be certain that they are thoroughly destarched, test a leaf for starch before
you begin.
 TESTING LEAVES FOR STARCH

1. Iodine Solution is used to test for Starch… A blue-black color shows a

positive result

2. However, the iodine solution cannot get through the cell membrane to reach the
starch inside the leaf and can’t react with it.

3. Furthermore, the green color of the leaf and the brown color of the iodine
solution can look black together which can be misleading.

4. Therefore, before testing the leaf for starch, one must breakdown the cell
membrane and get rid of the (green color) chlorophyll.

5. The cell membranes are first broken down by boiling water and then the
chlorophyll is removed by dissolving it out with alcohol
Steps for starch test of leaf
Is oxygen produced during photosynthesis?
Evidence of Learning: -
●
• P6 practice 0610/62/M/J/17
LIMITING
FACTORS
What affects photosynthesis?
LIMITING FACTOR
A limiting factor is something present in the
environment in such a short supply that it
restricts life processes.
e.g.
• Light intensity
• Conc. Of Carbon Dioxide
• Temperature
• No of leaves/surface area of leaves
• Chloroplast
• Species of type of plant
Light intensity:
as light intensity increases,
rate of photosynthesis
increases
Temperature
Temperature Low = Rate of photosynthesis low
Temperature Increases = Rate of photosynthesis increases
If temperature too hot, rate drops as enzymes start to denature
Carbon Dioxide: As CO2
increases,
rate of photosynthesis increases
4. Stomata: Stomata often close if the weather is
very hot and sunny, to prevent water loss by
evaporation. ➢ CO2 cannot diffuse into the
leaves, so photosynthesis stops.
GLASSHOUSES-
THE TOOL TO
MAXIMIZE
NUTRITION
THANK YOU