THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SURVIVAL OF THE SPECIES

ª    The survival of animals and plants are important to maintain the species.

ª    If the species of plants become extinct,the world may face a shortage of food.

ª    This is because plants are the main sources of  food to another animals.

ª    The animal is also a source of food to another animal.

ª    Some species of animals and plants may also be in danger of extinction because of some other factors such as deforestation or natural disaster.

SURVIVAL  OF  PLANTS

Ë Plants also need to ensure the survival o their species.

Ë When the fruit of a plant is ripe, it either falls to the ground or splits open to release the seeds.

Ë If all the mature seeds falls straight down and germinate near the parent plaant will be crowded.

Ë Thus the young plants will have to compete or sunlight,water and mineral.

Ë To prevent this from happening,the seeds need to be adapted for dispersal.

Ë Dispersal means scattering or distributing the seeds to other places for germination.

Ë Different plants disperse their fruits and seeds in different ways.

Ë They are dispersed far and wide by agents such as:

·       Water

·       The wind

·       Animals

·       Explosive mechanism

PLANTS PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS

1.Besides protecting themselves from danger and enemies,plants also need to  adapt  themselves to extreme weather conditions.

2.Some of these weather conditions include:

Ï  Hot and dry weather

Ï  Strong winds

Ï  Extremely cold weather

PLANTS PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM DANGER AND ENEMIES

Ø Plants also have to adapt to their environment to survive.

Ø Plants have special characteristics to protect them from being destroyed by humans and animals.

Ø The following are some special characteristics of plants:-

¶  a thick and hard bark

¶  fine hairs

¶  thorns

¶  production of latex

¶  production of poisonous substances

PLANTS REPRODUCE

1. Plants need to reproduce in order to continue to exist.

2.If plants do not reproduce,humans will not get food supply.Animals

  that feed on plants will also not survive and will become extinct.

3.Diffrent typaes of plants reproduce in different ways.

4.Ways of plant reproduce include reproducing:-

a) by seeds

b) through the leaves

c) through suckers

d) by spores

e) by the cuttings of stems

f) through underground stems

PLANTS RESPOND TO STIMULI

1. Different parts of plants respond to different stimuli.

2. The movement of a plant involves the growth of certain parts of the plant.

3. Plants respond to the following stimuli:

a) gravity

b) water

c) sunlight

d) touch

4.When a part of a plant grows towards a stimulus it is said to show a positive  

   response.

5. However,when a part of the plant grows away from the stimulus it is said to

   show a negative response.

PLANTS RESPOND TO GRAVITY

1. This is the growth of certain parts of a plant in response to gravity.

2. The roots o the plant grow downwards into the soil while the shoots and

     branches grow upwards.

3. The plant grows downwards into the soil to get water in order to make food.

English-Malay Vocab

                    1. sunlight – cahaya matahari

2.wilt – layu

3. bud – tunas

4. bryophyllum – setawar

5. extinct - pupus

6. fern - paku pakis

7. leaflets - anak daun

8. lovegrass - rumput

9. moss - lumut

10. parent plant - pokok induk

11. root - akar

12. runner - batang rayap

13. shoot - pucuk

14. spores - spora

15. stem cutting - keratan batang

16. sucker - anak pokok

17. survival - kemandirian

18. sweet potato - ubi keledek

19. tapioca plant - pokok ubi kayu

20. touch - sentuhan

21. underground stem - batang bawah tanah

22. young plant - anak pokok

23. water lettuce - kiambang

SCIENCE INFO

§Small plants absorb water through their root by capillary action. This capillary action is similar when you drink water by sucking at the straw.

§Green plants are very important to life on Earth. They give off   oxygen that is needed by living things, including humans.

ª