7.06 Plants On the Move

Ever tried to catch a fly with your hands? Not an easy thing to do, is it? One of the coolest plants to observe is the venus flytrap. It's a plant with attitude and it moves quite quickly to capture its prey.

In this activity, you will: explore the processes of plant growth and development by examining time-lapse movies Honors students will: design an experiment to determine the effects of weightlessness on plants

Who Says Plants Don't Move?

Plants don't have muscles or a skeleton like we do. So how do plants like the venus flytrap, and others, move? Through the use of water and hormones plants are able to move, and not just to catch flies. Water and chemicals can cause groups of plant cells to change shapes. Coordinated just right, a plant can move over time. In the case of the venus flytrap, that movement is really fast.

SAS inSchool Web Activity: Who Says Plants Don't Move?

In the following web lesson you will explore the processes of plant growth and development.

Directions:

1. Go to: http://www.sasinschool.com/login.
2. The first time you enter, you will be prompted for your user name, which is located in the Materials section of the Course Information.
3. In the Quick Launch box, enter: 455.
4. Follow all directions in the SAS lesson.

Special Note:

All Students: Complete questions 1-12 on the student handout and submit as your assessment.

Honors Students: Complete questions 1-12; then also complete Part II: Research Experiment.

Plant Behavior Handout