Microscope Lab - Vascular Plants

Roots: (Dicot)

For most plants, the most important thing that makes them work is in fact, their roots. Reason being because they are used for many things, such as anchoring the plant to the ground, absorbing nutrients for the plant to use, and even storing some nutrients for later use. Roots are able to do this because they have tiny hairs on the roots which allow them to absorb the water in the soil and then transport them to vascular tissues where they can be spread throughout the plant.

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Stems: (Monocot)

Stems are a very important part for most plants because of their ability not only to provide support for the plant, but to also transport nutrients through their vascular tissues found inside them and to store nutrients as well. Like other organisms, plants have different species which often comes with different stem types; either Herbaceous or Woody stems. Herbaceous Stems are usually green and slightly bendable. Plants that have Herbaceous stems die after their growing season and depending on what kind of plant that they are, they can even grow back next year with a new stem. On the other hand, Woody stems are hard and usually covered with bark. Because they are so durable, plants with woody stems stay alive throughout the seasons and increase in size every year.

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Leaves: (Dicot)

Last but not least, there are the leaves. Leaves are very important for many plants because they are able to receive nutrients by photosynthesis, help the plants respire (exchange of oxygen for carbon dioxide), and can also store nutrients just like the other parts of the plant. In order for Photosynthesis to occur there must be a chemical reaction, and that reaction is Carbon Dioxide plus Water makes Glucose, Oxygen, and Water all thanks to the sunlight. And plant Transpiration is made possible through their Stomata which is in charge of controlling how much Oxygen comes out and how Much Carbon Dioxide is absorbed. The Stomata is important for plants because this gap is where most of the excess water is able to leave out in the form of water vapour. Also it is very important for humans because plants produce between 70-80% of the world's oxygen and this is made possible through the plant's Stomata.

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