Plant responses Flashcards
Stimulus
Anything that causes a reaction in an organism
eg: Light
Response
The activity of an organism due to a stimulus
Tropism
Plant growth response to a stimulus
When growth response is towards the stimulus it is
Positive
When growth response is away from the stimulus it is
Negative
Phototropism
change in plant growth in response to light
eg: stems grow toward light and are positively phototropic
eg: Roots grow away from light and are negatively phototropic
Geotropism
Change in plant growth in response to gravity
eg:
Roots are positively geotropic
- They grow down towards the pull of gravity in search of water
- Minerals and to anchor the plant
eg:
Stems are negatively geotropic
- They grow up and away from the pull of gravity
Chemotropism
Change in plant growth in response to chemicals
eg:
- Flowering plants
- Pollen tube grows down towards chemicals released
- Positively chemotropic
eg:
- Roots are negatively chemotropic to lead/zinc
Hydrotropism
Change in plant growth in response to water
eg: Roots grow down through the soil towards the water and so are positively hydrotropic
Thigmotropism
Change in plant growth in response to touch
eg: plants like ivy grow around any object they touch
Advantages of tropism
- allow plants to obtain more favourable growing conditions
- shoots are positively phototropic which allows increased photosynthesis
- roots are positively geotropic which allows increased availability of soil water and anchorage
External factors
Light intensity, gravity, temperature and day length
Internal factors
Plant growth regulators
- Auxins
- Ethene and abscisic acid
Importance of light intensity for plant growth
- Light energy is needed for photosynthesis
- Produces chlorophyll
Importance of gravity for plant growth
- water and minerals
- anchorage
Importance of temperature for plant growth
- affects the rate of enzyme action
Importance of day length for plant growth
- Flowering and seed formation
Define Meristem
Region of a plant where cells are actively dividing by mitosis to produce new cells for growth
Name 2 types of meristem
- Apical (primary)
- Lateral (secondary)
Apical meristem
- Located at the tips of stems, roots and buds
- responsible for growth in plant length
- formation of leaves and axillary buds
Lateral meristem
- Located along stems
- responsible for the growth in width
- produces secondary xylem and phloem
Define plant growth regulator
A chemical that controls the growth of a plant
eg:
- Auxins
- Ethene and abscisic acid