Plant Hormones and Tropic Responses

Overview

There are many hormones in plants and they all play different roles. In this lesson students will learn about hormones such as ethylene, gibberellins, cytokinin, absiscic acid and the application of hormones in commercial horticulture.

Tropic responses in plants are those responses to light, gravity and touch. In this lesson students will learn about the different tropic responses and set up experiments to demonstrate hormone effects and plant responses to stimulus. Data will be collected and summarized in tables and graphs.

Objectives

Students will:

1. Grow a plant from a seed.
2. Identify parts of a plant and plant cells.
3. Understand the role plant hormones play in plant growth.
4. Understand what plant tropisms are.
5. Work in groups to design and conduct an experiment to demonstrate a plant hormone or tropic response.

Duration

Part I. Plant Structure

Introduction: 15 to 20 minutes

Activity 1: Up to three 50 minute class periods

Part II. Plant Hormones and Tropisms

Introduction: Up to one 50 minute class period

Activity 1: Up to four 50 minute class periods