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Worksheet 1.1 Do leaves need light
to make starch?
1 Collect a healthy plant growing in a pot.

2 Cut out a piece of black paper or aluminium foil that will fit neatly over one of the leaves.
Cut a shape out of the paper or foil. Fold it in half, and fasten it gently over one of the leaves
on the plant.

3 Make a drawing of the leaf with the paper or foil on it, to show the shape that you have cut out.

4 Put the plant in a sunny window and leave it for one week.

5 Now take the leaf off the plant. Take the paper or foil off the leaf. Test the leaf for starch, as
described in Activity 1.1 in the Coursebook.

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 Do leaves need light to make starch?: Worksheet 1.1

6 Make a drawing of the appearance of the leaf after you have tested it for starch.

7 What conclusions can you make from the results of your experiment? Write them down in the
space below.

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Worksheet 1.2A Different kinds of
fertiliser
Six farmers in a village in Nigeria grow maize. They want to find out if adding fertiliser to their
fields would increase the yield of maize.
They decided to try out two kinds of fertiliser:
• fertiliser bought in bags
• manure from the cattle that they keep.

FERTILISER
FERTILISER
N P K
ts
duc N
pro
G TIO
Fertiliser Fertiliser FertiliserFertiliser Fertiliser Fertiliser
COVERS
NIN
Fertiliser Fertiliser FertiliserFertiliser Fertiliser Fertiliser

N
Fertiliser Fertiliser FertiliserFertiliser Fertiliser Fertiliser
Fertiliser Fertiliser FertiliserFertiliser Fertiliser Fertiliser 15,000 manure
Fertiliser Fertiliser FertiliserFertiliser Fertiliser Fertiliser 50. PT
Fertiliser Fertiliser FertiliserFertiliser Fertiliser Fertiliser in 54

1 The letters N, P and K show three of the elements that are contained in the fertiliser. Name these
three elements.

2 Name a mineral that contains nitrogen and can be used by plants.

3 The farmers carried out their experiment on an area of land with sides measuring 300 m. They
divided up the land into 9 equal-sized plots, A to I. They added either no fertiliser, manure or
NPK fertiliser to each plot, like this:

A B C
no fertiliser NPK manure
fertiliser

D E F
NPK manure no
fertiliser fertiliser

G H I
NPK

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manure no fertiliser fertiliser

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 Different kinds of fertiliser: Worksheet 1.2A

The farmers planted the same number of maize seeds in each plot. At harvest, they counted the
number of 90 kg bags of maize that they got from each plot. Their results are shown below.
A 18.0 bags B 33.5 bags C 31.5 bags
D 31.0 bags E 30.5 bags F 18.5 bags
G 31.0 bags H 17.5 bags I 31.5 bags

Draw a results table and complete it to show these results. Try to make it easy to see the yield that
the farmers got for each kind of fertiliser. You should include a column for the mean yield.

4 Suggest why it was a good idea to arrange the plots in the pattern shown in the diagram.

5 Suggest two things that the farmers should have kept the same in each plot, other than the area
of the plot and the number of seeds planted.

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 Different kinds of fertiliser: Worksheet 1.2A

6 All of the farmers decided that they would add manure to the soil where they grow maize in the
future. Suggest why they made this decision.

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Worksheet 1.2B Activity 1.2 – Assessment
for learning
When you have done Activity 1.2, find a partner. With your partner, discuss how well you
completed the task.
For some of the points, you will have to decide for yourself.
For others, your partner will be able to assess how well you have done.
Feature Yes or no?
Did you give some plants fertiliser and others no fertiliser?

Did you use the same kind of water for each set of plants?

Did you use the same volume of water for each set of plants?

Did you start off with the same number of plants in each container?

Did you try to keep the light intensity the same for each set of plants?

Did you try to keep the temperature the same for each set of plants?

Did you record the number of duckweed plants in a results table?

Did you draw your results table with a ruler?

Did your results table have headings for time (with units) and number of
duckweed plants?
Did your results table have ruled columns and rows, each one clearly headed?

Did you draw a graph of your results?

Did you put time on the horizontal axis and number of duckweed plants on the
vertical axis?
Did you include units with your graph axis labels?

Did you use a suitable scale on each axis?

Did you plot the points accurately?

Did you draw two lines on your graph?

Did you label the two lines?

Describe one thing that you did well.

Describe one thing that you would do

better next time.

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Worksheet 1.3 Water movement
through plants
1 The diagram shows a root hair cell.

a On the diagram, use label lines to label each of these parts of the cell:
cell wall cell membrane cytoplasm nucleus vacuole

b Which part of the cell controls what enters and leaves the cell?

c Which part of the cell contains chromosomes?

2 Root hair cells absorb water and mineral salts from the soil. Explain how the shape of a root hair
cell helps it to do this quickly.

3 Explain why root hair cells do not contain chloroplasts.

4 After the root hair cells have absorbed water and mineral salts, these substances move to the
centre of the root. They go into tubes made of empty, dead cells joined end to end.
These tubes carry the water and mineral salts all the way up to the top of the plant.
What is the name of these tubes?

5 When the water gets to the top of the plant, some of it is used for photosynthesis.
Write the word equation for photosynthesis.

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 Water movement through plants: Worksheet 1.3

6 Most of the water is not used for photosynthesis. It evaporates from the cells in the leaf, into the
air spaces inside the leaf.
Explain what is meant by the word evaporates.

7 Water vapour diffuses out of the leaf into the air.

What is the name of the tiny holes through which the water vapour diffuses?

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Worksheet 1.4 Observing and recording
flower structure
1 Collect a flower. Your teacher may give you a flower, or you can find one for yourself.

2 Study the flower carefully. Try to find each of the following parts:
• petals – the coloured parts, perhaps with guidelines on them
• sepals – a circle of structures outside the petals
• anthers – the parts that make pollen; they are on the end of the stamens
• stigma – the part that catches pollen
• ovary – the part near the base of the flower, which contains ovules.

3 Place the flower on a wooden or cork surface. Using a sharp knife, cut it in half from top to
bottom. Your teacher will show you how to do this.
Look for the ovule or ovules inside the ovary.

4 Now make a large drawing of one half of your flower. Remember to:
• use a sharp pencil, and have a good eraser ready for when you need it
• try to make each line smooth and clean
• try to get the shapes and relative proportions of the different parts of the flower
approximately correct
• make your drawing large, but leave space around it to write labels.

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Observing and recording flower structure: Worksheet 1.4

5 Label your diagram. Remember to:

• use a ruler to draw label lines
• make sure the end of the label line touches the structure you are labelling
• do not let label lines cross one another
• do not write labels on top of your drawing
• write your labels horizontally.

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Worksheet 1.5 Which colour flowers do
bees visit most often?
You are going to plan an experiment to try to answer this question. This is quite a challenging
task because it is not broken up into small parts. It would be a good idea to organise your thoughts
on a piece of rough paper before you begin to write your answer. When you have finished writing
your plan, you might even be able to carry out the experiment yourself.
Yao Ming watched bees visiting flowers in his garden. He noticed that a group of yellow flowers
seemed to get more bee visits than the other flowers.
Yao Ming decided to set up an experiment to find out if bees visited yellow flowers more often
than flowers of other colours.
He made some model flowers, using thin plastic, like this:

pot of sugar

coloured petals

1 Describe how Yao Ming should set up his experiment. Think about the variables he should
change, keep the same and measure.

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 Worksheet 1.5

2 Draw a results table in which Yao Ming could record his results.

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Worksheet 1.6 Comparing sexual
reproduction in humans
and flowering plants
Both humans and flowering plants reproduce sexually. You are going to think about how these
processes are similar to each other in the two kinds of organisms, and how they differ.

1 Explain what is meant by each of the following terms:

gamete
fertilisation
zygote

2 Complete the table.

Humans Flowering plants
Where are the male gametes
made?

What are the male gametes?

Where are the female gametes

made?

What are the female gametes?

How does the male gamete

get to the female gamete?

Where does fertilisation

happen?

What does the zygote develop

into?

Where does the embryo

develop?

How does the developing

embryo obtain food?

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Worksheet 1.7A Activity 1.7B – Assessment
for learning
When you have done Activity 1.7B, find a partner. Discuss how well you completed the task with
your partner.
For some of the points, you will have to decide for yourself.
For others, your partner will be able to assess how well you have done.
Feature Yes or no?
Did you vary the wing size on your model fruits?

Did you do this systematically, for example, making each fruit 2 cm shorter
than the previous one?
Did you keep the mass of each fruit constant?

Did you drop the fruits from the same height each time?

Did you do repeats, for example, dropping each fruit three times?

Did you record your results in a results table?

Did you draw the results table with a ruler?

Did you write clear headings for each row or column, including units for the
‘time’ column or rows?
Did you draw a graph of your results?

Did you write a conclusion that you worked out from your results?

Describe one thing that you did well.

Describe one thing that you would do

better next time.

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Worksheet 1.7B Fruit dispersal by
toucans (extension)
Read the information below and then answer the questions.

In 2011 and 2012, scientists conducted an investigation into how toucans help to disperse
nutmeg seeds.
First, the scientists studied captive toucans in a zoo in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands.
Toucans love to eat nutmeg fruits. They swallow the fruits whole, and then regurgitate
(bring up) the hard seeds.
The scientists fed 100 nutmeg fruits to five toucans. They timed how long it took for each
seed to be regurgitated. They found that this could be anything between 4 minutes and
98 minutes after the toucan had eaten the fruit.
Next, the scientists captured six wild toucans in Ecuador. They fitted each toucan with a
backpack containing a GPS (global positioning system) unit. This meant that they could
track the toucans, and find out where they were at any time.
The scientists recorded the distance that each toucan travelled at various time intervals
after feeding at a nutmeg tree. They used their results to calculate the mean distance
travelled. They did this when the toucans fed in the early morning, and also when they fed
at midday. The graph shows their results.
400

300

mean distance travelled / m

200

100

0 50 100
time after feeding / minutes
morning midday

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Fruit dispersal by toucans (extension): Worksheet 1.7B

1 Explain the difference between a fruit and a seed. (You could refer to the last sentence in the
second paragraph in your answer.)

2 Suggest why the scientists chose to do the first part of their experiment in a zoo, rather than in
the wild in Ecuador.

3 Look at the graph.

a If a toucan regurgitates a nutmeg seed 50 minutes after eating a fruit in the morning, how
far is the seed likely to be dispersed from the tree?

b Explain why we cannot be sure that a seed regurgitated after 50 minutes will be dispersed
this distance from the tree.

c Use the graph, and the information in the third paragraph, to predict the greatest distance
that a nutmeg seed could be dispersed from the tree. Explain your answer.

4 Use the graph to suggest how producing ripe fruits ready to be eaten in the early morning, rather
than later in the day, could be an advantage to nutmeg trees.

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Fruit dispersal by toucans (extension): Worksheet 1.7B

5 Do you think the scientists planned their experiments well? Suggest how they could improve their
investigation.

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Worksheet 2.1 Plant adaptations

Your teacher will provide you with some plants, parts of plants or photographs of plants.
Look carefully at each one. Decide where you think this plant is adapted to live.
Make a drawing of the plant, or part of it. Add labels to your drawing to explain how the plant is
adapted to live in its habitat.

Plant A I think that plant A is adapted to live .................................................................. .

Plant B I think that plant B is adapted to live .................................................................. .

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 Plant adaptations: Worksheet 2.1

Plant C I think that plant C is adapted to live .................................................................. .

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Worksheet 2.3A Using a quadrat to
sample plants
If you want to find out how many plants are growing in a habitat, you cannot usually count them
all. Instead, you count them inside several sample areas.
Ecologists normally use square sample areas. These are called quadrats.
A quadrat can be any size. For small plants, a good size is 0.5 m × 0.5 m.
If you make a square this size out of wood or wire, you can just place it on the ground, ready to
count the plants inside it.
Often, you will want to place the quadrat randomly in the area you are studying. Here is a good
way to do it.

1 Mark out the boundaries of the area you are going to study.

2 Pretend that two sides of this area are the axes of a graph.

3 Use a calculator to generate random numbers, or find a list of random numbers on the internet
or in a book.

4 Use the first pair of random numbers as though they were the coordinates to plot on a graph.
Place the bottom left hand corner of your quadrat where you would plot the point.

Three paces from

‘start’ then four
paces out
Quadrat here

mbers
4 paces out Random nu 5 2 1
3 4 2 9
5 4
9 2 3 6 3
3 7
0 2 9 1 2
8 7 2 9 5 0
9
8 2
9 4 2 6 1
7 5
3 5 8 3 4
3 paces
Start

5 Count the number of the plants you are studying (for example, daisies) inside the quadrat.
Record the number in a results table like this:
Quadrat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Number of daisy plants 8

6 Next, use another pair of random numbers to place the second quadrat. Continue like this until
you have recorded results for 10 quadrats.

Notes
• Sometimes, it is difficult to decide where one plant finishes and another one starts. This makes
it impossible to count the number of plants. In that case, you can estimate the percentage of
the quadrat that is covered by the plants and record this instead.
• You can also use quadrats to sample animals that don’t move around – for example, limpets on
the seashore.

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Worksheet 2.3B Comparing sampling
results from two areas
Kanji and Adelmo used quadrats to compare the number of daisies growing on the school
playing field, and on a grassy verge near to the school entrance.
Their results are shown in the tables.
On the playing field
Quadrat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Number of 8 6 2 11 3 6 10 8 1 9 4 5
daisy plants

On the verge next to the school entrance

Quadrat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Number of 0 1 4 3 2 5 0 0 2 3 0 1
daisy plants

1 Calculate the mean number of daisy plants in each area. To do this, add up all the numbers of
daisy plants in the first area, and divide by twelve. Then do the same for the second area.

2 Count the number of quadrats in which daisy plants were found, in each area.

3 Construct and complete a tally chart for each area, like this. The first tally chart has been
constructed for you.
On the playing field
Number of daisy plants 0–2 3–5 6–8 9–11
Number of quadrats

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 Worksheet 2.3B

4 Draw a frequency diagram for each area. Put number of daisy plants inside a quadrat on the
x-axis, and number of quadrats on the y-axis.

5 Using your answers to 1, 2, 3 and 4, compare the numbers of daisy plants in the two areas.

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Worksheet 2.5 What factors affect the
rate of decomposition
of a carrot?
Many decomposers live in soil. Most of them are microscopic bacteria and fungi.
Decomposers cause organic matter to decay. You are going to investigate how one variable affects
the rate at which a piece of carrot, or another vegetable, decays.
Here is a good way to do this.
• Find the mass of a carrot.
• Put the carrot into a plastic bag, with some soil, and seal the bag. Leave it for a few days.

zip closure

plastic bag

carrot
soil

• Take the carrot out, wash it and find its mass again. Put the carrot back into the bag and
seal it again.
If you repeat this every few days, you will be able to draw a graph of the mass of the carrot
against time.

1 Planning your experiment

Choose one of these variables to investigate. Draw a circle around the variable you have chosen.
temperature water fertiliser whether the carrot is raw or cooked
whether the carrot is whole or chopped into several pieces the type of soil
In your plan, describe clearly what you will do. Explain how you will change the variable you have
chosen to investigate, and how you will try to keep all the other variables constant.
You also need to think about hazards and risks. Are there any hazards or risks in your experiment?

If so, how will you control them?

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 Worksheet 2.5

2 Checking your plan

Ask your teacher to check your plan. Make any changes to it that you think are needed.

3 Carrying out your experiment

Now you can do your experiment. Be prepared for it to last for several weeks.
Use the space below to draw a results table, and fill in your results as you go along.

4 Writing a conclusion
What conclusion can you make from your results?

5 Explaining your results

Use what you know about decomposers to suggest an explanation for your results.

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 Worksheet 2.5

6 Evaluating your methods

How reliable do you think your results are? Suggest how you could improve your method, if
you did your experiment again.

7 Comparing your results with others

Talk to other groups in your class about their methods and results. How do they differ from
yours? Whose experiment do you think was the best, and why?

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Worksheet 2.7 Investigating the effect
of fertilisers on algae
1 Your teacher will give you some pond water. Put equal volumes of pond water into three identical
transparent jars with lids. Label the jars A, B and C.

2 Add 1 g of fertiliser to jar A.

3 Add 2 g of fertiliser to jar B.

4 Add 1 g of clean sand to jar C.

5 Leave all three jars in a sunny place.

6 Check your jars each day. You will probably find that green algae will grow in the water.
Try to find a way of recording how much the algae have grown. Here are some ideas:
• Line the three jars up side by side and compare their colours. It’s a good idea to put white
paper behind them, as this makes it easier to see the colour clearly.
• Put a drop of water from one of the jars onto a microscope slide and cover it with a
coverslip. Focus on one part of the water drop, and estimate how many algae you can see
using low power. Repeat for the other two jars.

7 Record your results in the space below.

8 Write down your conclusion.

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 Worksheet 2.7

9 Use your scientific knowledge to suggest an explanation for your results.

10 Suggest how you could improve your experiment if you did it again.

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Worksheet 2.8 Mangrove swamps
(extension)
Mangroves are trees that grow on muddy seashores in tropical regions. Their roots are covered by
sea water when the tide is in. Mangroves have unusual root systems that help to support them in
the mud.

Mangroves are habitats for many different animals. Baby fish often spend their early lives
amongst the mangrove roots, safe from predators such as larger fish. Mangroves also help to
protect the shore from wave damage and flooding, especially in storms.
Mangroves are often cleared away by people. They may do this to build new homes or roads, to
make deepwater ports, or for building shrimp farms.
Ecologists in the Caribbean wanted to find out whether the presence of mangroves affected
the numbers of fish in nearby coral reefs. They measured the biomass of four species of fish on
several coral reefs where there were mangroves on the shore, and on several coral reefs where
there were no mangroves.

mangroves on
the shore shallow lagoon of
sea water
coral reef

The table shows their results. The biomass is given in kg / km2. This means the number of
kilograms of that kind of fish in a one square kilometre area of coral reef.

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 Mangrove swamps (extension): Worksheet 2.8

Species of fish Biomass of fish on coral reef (kg/km2)

Mangroves on the shore No mangroves on the shore
striped parrotfish 2170 1530
bluestriped grunt 447 288
yellowtail 6715 3098
schoolmaster 1898 1767

1 Explain the meaning of each of these words.

habitat

predators

ecologists

2 Mangrove swamps all over the world are under threat from human activities. Explain why
humans are destroying the mangrove habitat.

3 Explain why it is important to conserve (protect) mangrove swamps.

4 In the ecologists’ experiment, they measured the biomass of fish. Explain what is meant by ‘biomass’.

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 Mangrove swamps (extension): Worksheet 2.8

5 The ecologists could not possibly catch and measure every fish on one square kilometre of coral
reef. Suggest how they could have collected their results.

6 What conclusion can you make from the results in the table?

7 Suggest an explanation for the pattern shown by the results.

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