Simulating the Effects of Light and Water Availability on Plant Height
Written by Jenifer C. Utz, PhD
School of Life Sciences, UNLV
3-LS3-2. Use evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment.
[Clarification Statement: Examples of the environment affecting a trait could include normally tall plants grown
with insufficient water are stunted; and, a pet dog that is given too much food and little exercise may become
overweight.]
Science and Engineering Practices:
Asking questions
Developing and using models
Analyzing and interpreting data
Using mathematics and computational thinking
Constructing explanations
Engaging in argument from evidence
Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information
Crosscutting Concepts:
Patterns
Cause and effect
Systems and system models
Disciplinary Core Ideas:
LS3.A: Inheritance of Traits
- Many characteristics of organisms are inherited from their parents.
- Other characteristics result from individuals’ interactions with the environment, which can range
from diet to learning. Many characteristics involve both inheritance and environment.
LS3.B: Variation of Traits
- Different organisms vary in how they look and function because they have different inherited
information.
- The environment also affects the traits that an organism develops.
I.
Topic Question
How can the environment influence the traits of plants and animals?
The environment can influence the traits of plants and animals because…I think this because…
II.
Topic Description
In this lesson we will study how the environment can influence the physical characteristics of plants. We
will conduct a simulation where the parent plants are tall, and we will investigate how the amount of
light or water in the environment influences the height of the offspring.
III.
Prediction/Beginning Ideas
We previously investigated how the height of parent plants influences the height of their offspring.
Based on your previous knowledge and experiences, if both parent plants were tall, what would you
predict about their offspring?
If both parent plants were tall, I would expect the offspring to be… I think this because…
NeCoTIP: Integrating Science and Language Arts with an Emphasis on Argument-Based Inquiry within the Context of Next
Generation Science and Common Core State Standards
How would these offspring be affected by lack of water or lack of sunlight?
If these offspring did not have enough water or sunlight, I would expect the offspring to be… I think
this because…
IV.
Tests
We will be looking at how the environment influences the trait of plant height. We will use pictures of
plants to represent the parents, the offspring, and the amount of light or water available in the
environment. These pictures model what could happen with live plants. Students (partners or small
groups) will decide whether to investigate the influence of sunlight or water then the teacher will hand
out the corresponding pictures of the offspring. Students will analyze the characteristics of the offspring.
After all students have evaluated their plants, the class will work together to generate a summary of all
the results.
For investigation of water and light availability on plant height:
Set 11: tall parent plants, abundance or lack of water for offspring
Set 12: tall parent plants, abundance or lack of light for offspring
Note to teacher: For Sets 11 and 12, all the offspring that are exposed to abundant light/water will be
tall. The offspring that experience a lack of sufficient light/water will be short. When making multiple
copies (to accommodate large classes and allow for multiple groups to examine the same data sets)
modify each set to yield unique results (see examples of class summary data on the following pages).
NeCoTIP: Integrating Science and Language Arts with an Emphasis on Argument-Based Inquiry within the Context of Next
Generation Science and Common Core State Standards
V.
Observations
Investigation of Water Availability on Plant Height
Parent Plant Traits
Female parent plant height is ______________
Male parent plant height is ______________
Offspring Traits
The total number of offspring is ___________
The cloud and rain symbols represent water availability for the offspring.
The large symbol represents abundant water, and the small symbol
represents a lack of water.
Samples to use for classifying offspring height:
How many offspring had the same height trait (tall) as the parent plants?
How many offspring had a different height trait (short) than the parent plants?
What type of environment were the tall offspring exposed to?
What type of environment were the short offspring exposed to?
NeCoTIP: Integrating Science and Language Arts with an Emphasis on Argument-Based Inquiry within the Context of Next
Generation Science and Common Core State Standards
Investigation of Light Availability on Plant Height
Parent Plant Traits
Female parent plant height is ______________
Male parent plant height is ______________
Offspring Traits
The total number of offspring is ___________
The sunshine symbols represent the availability of sunlight for the offspring.
The large symbol represents abundant sunlight, and the small symbol
represents a lack of sunlight.
Samples to use for classifying offspring height:
How many offspring had the same height trait (tall) as the parent plants?
How many offspring had a different height trait (short) than the parent plants?
What type of environment were the tall offspring exposed to?
What type of environment were the short offspring exposed to?
NeCoTIP: Integrating Science and Language Arts with an Emphasis on Argument-Based Inquiry within the Context of Next
Generation Science and Common Core State Standards
Examples of class summary data
Set 11: tall parent plants, abundance or lack of water for offspring
Student
Number of tall
Number of short
Group
offspring
offspring
Group A
12
10
Group B
13
14
Group C
10
10
Total = 35 tall plants Total = 34 short plants
Total number of plants
22
27
20
Grand Total = 69 plants
Questions for classroom discussion after all the data has been compiled:
When both parent plants are tall, what would we normally expect the offspring to look like?
We would expect all the offspring to be tall because “tall” is the only kind of height information that
the parents could pass on to the offspring.
Why were about half the offspring short instead of tall?
Plants need water and light in order to grow. The offspring that were short either did not have
enough water or did not have enough sunlight to grow to their full potential.
If the short offspring received more water and sunlight, do you think they could grow to be tall?
Yes, they could likely grow to be tall. The offspring inherited the information to be tall from the
parent plants. The short offspring did not receive what they needed from the environment (water and
light) to grow to their full potential. If the necessary resources were provided, they could likely
express the height trait they inherited.
The parent plants were tall. What can we infer about their environment?
The environment provided sufficient resources (water and light). These resources allowed the parent
plants to grow until they were tall.
What mathematical tools can we use to represent our class data?
Fractions, percentages, bar graphs…
Plants need water and sunlight in their environment. What do animals need in their environment?
Animals need food, water, air, shelter…
VI.
Scientific Argument
A. Claims
In this exercise, you used pictures as a model to investigate how the amount of water or sunlight in
the environment interacted with traits inherited from parents to influence the height of the offspring.
What claim can you make about the following question?
How can the environment influence the traits of plants and animals?
I can claim that…
B. Evidence
What evidence do you have from this investigation to support your claims?
My claims are supported by the following observations…
NeCoTIP: Integrating Science and Language Arts with an Emphasis on Argument-Based Inquiry within the Context of Next
Generation Science and Common Core State Standards
C. Rationale/Warrant/Justification
How does your evidence support your claims?
My evidence supports my claims because…
VII.
Reading/Comparison
How do your ideas compare with others? How do they compare with the ideas in your textbook or other
readings?
Organism/environment interaction articles from ReadWorks.com that come with reading comprehension
question sets:
Miss Johnson's Plant Experiment Passage & Question Set
Grade: 3
Lexile Level: 700L
Domain: Life Science
Text Type: Literary
Skill/Strategy: Multi Skill/Strategy
A Plant Puzzle Passage & Question Set
Grade: 4
Lexile Level: 970L
Domain: Life Science
Text Type: Informational
Skill/Strategy: Multi Skill/Strategy
Frogs at Risk Passage & Question Set
Grade: 4
Lexile Level: 950L
Domain: Life Science
Text Type: Informational
Skill/Strategy: Multi Skill/Strategy
VIII. Reflection
How have your ideas changed? How does this tie in with what you have learned in class? How can you
connect this exercise to something outside of the classroom? What new questions do you have?
Now that you have stated your thoughts about how the environment influences the traits of plant and
animals (your claim and evidence) compare your understanding with the content presented in the
readings.
In the content reading I learned…
In the content reading I confirmed my understanding of…
Initially, what did you state about the topic question?
How can the environment influence the traits of plants and animals?
My original response to the topic question was (copy and paste):
I would like to amend my response to include/remove…
Looking back before and during the simulation, describe how your ideas have changed. If they did not
change, specifically describe the parts of this investigation and reading that confirmed your thoughts.
My ideas have…
NeCoTIP: Integrating Science and Language Arts with an Emphasis on Argument-Based Inquiry within the Context of Next
Generation Science and Common Core State Standards