Y8 Plants Test Level: _____

Name______________________________ Class_____ Date________

1 Bindweed is a plant that grows tightly around other plants.

The drawing below shows bindweed growing around a rose bush.

a Complete the sentences below. Choose from the words in the list.

air light support water minerals

(i) Bindweed grows as high as possible on the rose bush so that the bindweed can get as

much ________________________ as possible.

(ii) Bindweed grows around the rose bush because the rose bush provides

________________________ for the bindweed.

[2]
b A gardener cut through the stem of the bindweed at X.
Two days later the bindweed above X was dead.

Why did the bindweed die?

Tick the correct box.

[1]

Dr. A. George
c The gardener adds fertiliser to the soil to help her rose bushes to grow well.

What do plants get from the fertiliser?

Tick the correct box.

[1]

d Plant roots have root hairs.

Which diagram shows a root hair?

Tick the correct box.

[1]

Dr. A. George
2 The diagram below shows a plant cell.

a In which part of a plant would you find this type of cell?

____________________________________ [1]

b (i) Give the function of the nucleus.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________ [1]

(ii) Give the function of the chloroplasts.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________ [1]

(iii) Give the function of the cell wall.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________ [1]

c Give the names of two labelled parts that are not present in animal cells.

1. ____________________________________

2. ____________________________________
[2]

d Tick one box in each row to show whether the statement is true for photosynthesis or
respiration.

[2]
Dr. A. George
3 Amy and Tom investigated how sugar affects the growth of pollen grains.
They looked at pollen grains under a microscope.

a Give two ways in which Tom’s plan is better than Amy’s plan.

1. _______________________________________________________________________

2. _______________________________________________________________________
[2]

b In Tom’s investigation, which factor did he change (the independent variable)?

______________________________________________________________ [1]

c Look at Tom’s results in the table below.

He plotted five of his results on graph paper.

Plot the result for 20% sugar solution.

Dr. A. George
 [1]

d Tom’s conclusion was, ‘The greater the concentration of sugar solution, the greater the
percentage of pollen grains that had grown.’

Do his results support his conclusion?

Tick one box.

Use the results in the graph to explain your answer.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________ [1]

Dr. A. George
4 The drawing shows a bluebell plant. The plant grows from an underground stem called a
bulb.

Each year new leaves and flowers grow from the bulb.

a Describe the process in which glucose is made in the leaves.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________ [3]

b Many plants make starch from glucose.

What group of nutrients do both glucose and starch belong to?

____________________________________ [1]

Dr. A. George
5 Richard wanted to find out the best conditions for growing lettuce plants.

He took 4 trays and planted 8 lettuce plants in each.

The results of his investigation are shown below.

a How many days did Richard’s investigation last?

Use the table to help you.

________ days
[1]

b Look at the table. Which variables did Richard change in his investigation?
Tick the correct box.

[1]

Dr. A. George
c Richard said:

Why is Richard not actually able to make this conclusion from his investigation?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________ [1]

d The table below shows the number of lettuce plants alive at the end of day 1 and day 7
of the investigation.

For each tray, A, B, C and D, suggest the number of plants that were alive on day 4.

Write your answers in the table below.

[2]

Dr. A. George
6 Joe bought a potted plant. He kept it well watered but some of the leaves turned yellow.

Joe thought that the plant did not have enough light for photosynthesis.
He moved the plant closer to the window but more leaves turned yellow.

a He then thought the plant did not have enough minerals.

The table below gives information about minerals.

(i) Joe’s plant did not have enough of one of the minerals in the table.
Use the information in the table to suggest which mineral this was.

_______________________________
[1]

(ii) A plant growing in a pot is more likely to be affected by a shortage (lack) of minerals
than a plant growing in a garden.
Give the reason for this.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________ [1]

Dr. A. George
b Joe bought some fertiliser for his plant.

(i) Give the letter of one box of fertiliser, A, B, C or D, that would provide each of the
minerals in the table below.

Write the letters in the table.

[3]

(ii) Easy Grow is ammonium nitrate, NH4NO3.

How many different elements are present in ammonium nitrate?

__________ [1]

(iii) How many atoms are present in the formula of ammonium nitrate?

__________ [1]

Dr. A. George
7 Almost 200 years ago, an important investigation into plant growth was carried out.
George Sinclair, the Duke of Bedford’s head gardener, planted seeds in 242 plots of land.
Each plot of land measured about one metre by one metre.

Charles Darwin concluded from this investigation:

If a plot of ground is planted with seeds from one species (type) of grass and a similar
plot is planted with seeds from several different species (types) of grass, the second
plot will produce a greater number of plants and a greater mass
of plant material.

a Give one feature of the plots that was kept the same in Sinclair’s investigation.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________ [1]

b Why did Sinclair use many plots rather than just two?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________ [1]

c What two dependent variables of this investigation does Darwin mention in his
conclusions?

1. ____________________________________________________________

2. ____________________________________________________________ [1]

d What was the independent variable (the factor which was changed) in Sinclair’s
investigation?

______________________________________________________________ [1]

e The soil in each plot was tested.

Suggest one reason why these soil tests were helpful to the interpretation of the results
of the investigation.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________ [1]

f Suggest one reason why several different species of grass in a plot produced a greater
mass of plant material than a single species in a plot.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________ [1]
Dr. A. George
CIS Grade 7 Plants Test – Mark Scheme
1.

L4 4 5 5

2.

L6

3.

L5

Dr. A. George
 L6

4.

L6

5.

L4 4 5 5

6.

Dr. A. George
 L6

7.

L7

Dr. A. George