🌱 Part 1: Multiple Choice

Circle the best answer for each question.

1. How do plants get their energy?

By eating other living things

By making their own food using sunlight, water and carbon dioxide

By absorbing nutrients from animals

By breaking down dead material in the soil

2. An organism that makes its own food is called a/an:

Heterotroph

Decomposer

Autotroph

Consumer

3. Which part of the plant is mainly responsible for photosynthesis?

Roots

Stem

Leaves

Flowers

4. What are stomata?

Tiny tubes that carry water up the stem

Small pores on leaves that allow gas exchange

Cells that contain chlorophyll

The outer layer of the root

5. Which of the following is a heterotroph?

A sunflower

A fern

A rabbit

A cactus

✏️ Part 2: Fill in the Blanks & Short Answer

Use the words below to complete the sentences, then answer the questions.

6. Complete the photosynthesis sentence:

Plants use _____________, _____________, and _____________ to make glucose. They release _____________ as a by-product.

7. What is the job of each plant structure? Fill in the table:

Roots:

Stem:

Leaves:

8. Explain in your own words why plants close their stomata on very hot days (above 35°C).

9. A cactus lives in a hot, dry desert. Describe two adaptations it might have to survive with very little water.

10. A student says, "Plants and animals both need energy, so they must get it the same way." Do you agree or disagree? Explain your thinking.

🌿 Part 3: Label the Diagram

Draw a simple plant in the box below and label these four parts: roots, stem, leaves, stomata. Add an arrow showing where sunlight enters and where gases are exchanged.

📋 Teacher Answer Guide

(Remove this section before printing for students.)

Q1: ✅ By making their own food using sunlight, water and carbon dioxide (photosynthesis)

Q2: ✅ Autotroph (auto = self, troph = feeding)

Q3: ✅ Leaves (contain chlorophyll in chloroplasts)

Q4: ✅ Small pores on leaves that allow gas exchange

Q5: ✅ A rabbit (heterotrophs must consume other organisms for energy)

Q6 Fill in the blanks: sunlight / water / carbon dioxide → release oxygen
Full sentence: Plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to make glucose. They release oxygen as a by-product.

Q7 Plant structures:
• Roots: Absorb water and minerals from the soil; anchor the plant
• Stem: Supports the plant; transports water and nutrients between roots and leaves
• Leaves: Main site of photosynthesis; capture sunlight and exchange gases through stomata

Q8 Stomata closing in heat: Accept answers that include — plants close stomata to prevent water loss (transpiration). If it's very hot, the plant could dry out and wilt. Closing stomata conserves water even though it also slows down photosynthesis.

Q9 Cactus adaptations (any two):
• Thick, waxy skin to reduce water loss
• Stores water in its thick stem
• Spines instead of leaves (reduces surface area for water loss)
• Shallow but wide roots to capture rain quickly
• Stomata that only open at night

Q10 Disagree: Plants are autotrophs — they make their own energy through photosynthesis using sunlight. Animals are heterotrophs — they must eat plants or other animals to get energy. Both need energy to survive, but they obtain it in completely different ways.

Q11 Diagram: Look for correct labelling of roots (below ground), stem (vertical support), leaves (broad flat structures), and stomata (small dots/pores on leaf surface). Arrows should show sunlight hitting the leaf and gas exchange (CO₂ in, O₂ out) at the stomata.