3. Pull off the large outside stalks of celery and find a small one
inside that still has its leaves. Using a knife, cut a little off the
bottom and place the celery stalk into one of the red glasses,
bottom side down.
All About
Plant Structure
& Growth
Investigation Data Sheet
Plant Parts – Follow the Xylem
4. Using a knife (or ask an adult helper), split the stem of the
carnation in two while keeping it attached to the flower.
Then put one half of the stem in a beaker of red water and
the other into the blue beaker.
5. Place the carnation, celery and carrot side by side.
All plants need water to survive. Water is transported through
the stems of plants in a special tissue called xylem. It is like
the plumbing in your house, or the veins in your body.
• What do you think will happen to the carrot?
Objective
• What do you think will happen to the celery?
Follow the xylem tissue through all the different parts of plants.
Materials
• What do you think will happen to the carnation?
— a carrot with a leafy top to represent a root
— a bunch of celery to demonstrate stem and leaves
— a large white carnation for a flower
— four glasses or beakers filled halfway with water
— red food coloring
— blue food coloring
— rubber gloves
— a notebook
— a small plastic knife
6. Observe your plants every hour and write down any changes
you see in the data table.
7. Use a knife (or have an adult help) to take a cross-section of
the carrot and the celery. Draw what you see on the back of
this page.
8. Was your hypothesis (scientific guess) about the plants
correct? Explain.
Safety Notice: All applicable laboratory safety rules must be followed. Students should
not perform any experimental activity without the teacher’s supervision and express
permission. Students must follow safety guidelines and wear appropriate protective gear.
Procedure
1. After putting on the rubber gloves, place three drops of red
food coloring into two of the beakers and three drops of blue
coloring into the other two beakers. Stir these solutions.
2. Using a knife, carefully cut the carrot a few centimeters from
the bottom. (If you have trouble with the cutting, ask an
adult to help you.) Keep the leafy part on and place the
carrot in a blue glass.
Conclusions
• What do you think would happen if the xylem in a plant gets
cut or damaged in some way?
Data Table – Plant Observations
Carrot (root)
Celery (stem)
Carnation (flower)
Appearance: initial
After one hour
After two hours
After three hours
After four hours
www.LibraryVideo.com
© 2005 Library Video Company. All rights reserved.