Growth curve of a plant

Class: 6

Lesson: Le cycle de dloppement complet d'une plante leur

Rationale: Demonstrate how to make a growth curve.

Materials:

box of dirt with plants
chalkboard ruler
ruler, string

Procedure:

1. Draw the life cycle of a flowering plant, evenly spacing the successively aging plants on a horizontal line. This will be the x-axis.

COURBE DE CROISSANCE D'UNE PLANTE A FLEURS

Courbe de croissance

2. Write the ages in days under the plants and seeds.

3. Add the y-axis.

4. Lable the axis (days, centimeters).

5. Dot the tops of each plant to mark the height.

6. Connect the dots.

7. Erase the plants in the drawing, leaving the growth curve.

8. Give the graph a title.

9. Show the students how to read the graph and quiz them.

10. Now make a growth curve of a real plant. Use plants stuck in a box of dirt. It's easiest to trim the plants to the right size and then stick them in the dirt.

11. Have a student measure each plant and record the height and age on a graph on the board.

12. After finishing the growth curve, rest a string on the tops of the plants to compare the string contour to that of the growth curve on the board.

Source: T. Altieri