CAMBRIDGE YEAR 6

SCIENCE
CHAPTER 1: INTERDEPENDENCE AND
ADAPTATION
1.1 HEALTHY PLANTS
Seeds do not need light to germinate. It
has its own food store as an energy
source.
Plants need light to grow because light
is needed to carry out photosynthesis.
Photosynthesis is the process where
green plants make sugars from carbon
dioxide and water using light energy.
1.1 HEALTHY PLANTS
The leaves are the site of photosynthesis
because it contains the green pigment,
chlorophyll that absorbs light energy.
Oxygen is produced from photosynthesis
is used by animals for respiration.

1.1 HEALTHY PLANTS
Germination of a seed
1.1 HEALTHY PLANTS
Photosynthesis
1.1 HEALTHY PLANTS
The sugar produced from photosynthesis
is stored as starch.
The sugar produced by green plants is
used to make new leaves, roots, stems,
flowers and seeds.


1.1 HEALTHY PLANTS
Plants absorb all the minerals required
from the soil. But some soils dont
contain enough essential minerals.
Gardeners help plants to grow better with
fertilisers.

1.2 FEEDING PLANTS
Farmer Yousef has a problem with his
tomato plants. Some are not growing as
well as others.
Yousef needs your help. What can you
do? Scientists test or trial their ideas first.

1.2 FEEDING PLANTS
How to test ideas for better plant growth
Remedy Amount plant grew in one week (cm)
No change (control) 3
Tomato fertiliser 15
Houseplant fertiliser 12
New soil 10
New soil and tomato fertiliser 14
New soil and houseplant fertiliser 12
1.3 IDENTIFYING LIVING THINGS
We use keys to identify living things.
Keys ask simple questions. The
answers lead to the next question.

1.3 IDENTIFYING LIVING THINGS

Has it got legs?
Has it got 6 legs?
INSECT SPIDER
Has it got a shell?
SNAIL WORM
Yes No
Yes Yes No
No
1.3 IDENTIFYING LIVING THINGS
A food chain shows the food relationship
in a habitat.
Every food chain starts with a green
plant (producer). The producer produces
its own food by photosynthesis.
Animals are called consumers because
they consume either plants or other
animals.

1.3 IDENTIFYING LIVING THINGS
The food that the plant produces passes
up the food chain as energy from one
animal to the next.
The animal at the end of the food chain
is called the top predator.




1.3 IDENTIFYING LIVING THINGS

Producer
Primary
consumer

Secondary
consumer

Tertiary consumer
-Green plants
-Herbivores that
feeds on plants
-An animal which
feeds on the
primary consumer
-An animal which
feeds on the
secondary
consumer
1.4 FOOD CHAINS
Plankton are tiny plants that float in the
sea. It uses the light energy to make
food. This energy is what the animals
need from their food.



Plankton Fish Penguin Seal
1.4 FOOD CHAINS
When one animal eats another, the
energy moves up the food chain. Each
arrow shows the flow of energy. It points
to the animal doing the eating.

1.5 PLANT PRODUCER
Green plants are producers. They are the
starting point of nearly every food chain.
Green plants use light energy to combine
water and carbon dioxide to make sugars.
The sugars are the source of energy and
is also needed to manufacture new
materials for growth.

1.5 PLANT PRODUCER
We produce carbon dioxide and cannot
live without oxygen. Plants need
carbon dioxide for photosynthesis and
produce oxygen from photosynthesis.
So plants and humans need each other!
Plants too need oxygen for respiration
but it produces far more oxygen than
they used.
1.5 PLANT PRODUCER
Video on photosynthesis:

1.6 LIFE IN THE SOIL
Wet soil is called mud.
Not all soil are mud. Sandy soil is found
in the desert. It is yellow coloured and dry.
Soil rich in nutrients is found by rivers.
This type of soil is a mud.
The Indian Grey Mongoose lives in
burrows that it digs in the soil using its
long claws. They live in sandy places,
like desert.

1.6 LIFE IN THE SOIL
Video on Indian Grey Mongoose:





1.6 LIFE IN THE SOIL
Earthworms live in moist soil so they
can move through it.
Earthworm eat rotting vegetation and
soil. They help aerate the soil as they
move through it and supply it with
nutrients as they pass their waste.



1.6 LIFE IN THE SOIL
Video on earthworms:






1.6 LIFE IN THE SOIL
When animals and plants die, their
bodies decay. This provides nutrients to
the soil.
Some places in the world have very poor
soil. Plants will germinate and flower
next to a dead animal to get the nutrients
it provides.




1.7 ADAPTING TO A HABITAT
Plant adapts to survive. They can grow
anywhere. Some have adapted to grow in
very cold places like the Arctic. Some live
in very hot, humid places such as tropical
rainforests.


1.7 ADAPTING TO A HABITAT
Adaptation of plants in rainforests
In a rainforest there are plants at
different heights.
The plants near the ground dont get
much sunlight. Some of them feed on
other plants (parasites). Rafflesia is an
example of a parasitic plant.

1.7 ADAPTING TO A HABITAT
Rafflesia, a parasitic plant
1.7 ADAPTING TO A HABITAT
The tallest trees are called emergent
plants. They get lots of sunlight. Other
plants climb them to obtain sunlight. An
example of a climbing plant is a money
plant.
The seeds of the strangler figs
germinate in cracks of a mature tree,
where the tiny seedlings can get light.



1.7 ADAPTING TO A HABITAT
Money plant, a climbing plant
1.7 ADAPTING TO A HABITAT
Strangler fig growing around a forest tree
1.7 ADAPTING TO A HABITAT
Adaptations of plants in the Arctic
Spruce trees leaves are needles that
have thick, waxy covering layer. This
reduces water loss in winter, when the
roots cannot take up water from the
frozen soil.


1.7 ADAPTING TO A HABITAT
Spruce tree in the winter
1.7 ADAPTING TO A HABITAT
Adaptations of animals in their habitats
Animals have coats of fur or feathers
that match their surroundings.
A prey bird or chameleon will use this to
hide from its predator. It makes them
harder to find (camouflage).
1.7 ADAPTING TO A HABITAT
Video on chameleon:


1.8 BEING RESPONSIBLE
Orchids are beautiful flowers. They grow
in a variety of places.
Some orchids are very rare. The
Dancing Girl orchid is one of these. It is
found in the Himalayas. Scientists are
working to save it from extinction.
The rainforests in Madagascar has many
rare orchids. They are becoming
extinct due to deforestation and
hunting of the flowers.

1.8 BEING RESPONSIBLE
Dancing Girl orchid
1.9 WHAT A LOAD OF RUBBISH
Ways to
reduce
rubbish

Reduce
-Use less materials that
will become rubbish
- Example:
(i)Use smaller packaging
for foods
(ii)Buy a single large
drinks container rather
than lots of smaller ones

Reuse
-Use again materials
instead of throwing away
-Example:
(i)Use a container to fill up
water instead of buying a
new one
(ii)Use boxes for storage
instead of throwing them
away
Recycle
-Process materials
such as paper,
plastic and cans into
new materials