As part of our plant unit we have been doing a series of experiments to demonstrate the ‘jobs’ that each part of the plant has in the healthy growth of the whole plant. In this experiment we wanted to see what would happen to a plant if it was separated from its root system. We took two identical plants. We put one into a new pot; the other we put into a second pot but we cut the root ball off of it first. Both of these plants have been placed side-by-side on the window ledge so that they both received equal sunlight. They also received equal amounts of water. Three weeks later you can see what has happened … Students learned that the role of the roots is to suck water up from the ground, which is then sent to other parts of the plant. Its second job is to hold the plant securely in place so that it doesn’t get blown away.
