Medway LEA Advisory Service

Plants and photosynthesis/plants for food

9C & 9D

31 min
33 marks
Q1-L4, Q2-L5, Q3-L5, Q4-L6, Q5-L6

1. The drawing shows a plant called Tillandsia.

(a) (i) The leaves of this plant absorb light.

Why do plants need light?

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1 mark

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 (ii) Tillandsia plants grow on the high branches of trees in rain forests.

not to scale

These plants cannot grow well on the lowest branches.

Explain why.

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1 mark

(b) Tillandsia plants do not have root hairs on their roots.

What two substances do most plants absorb through their root hairs?

1. ................................................................................................................

2. ................................................................................................................
2 marks

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 (c) Which diagram below shows a root hair?
Tick the correct box.

A B

C D
not to scale
1 mark
Maximum 5 marks

2. The drawing shows an experiment to investigate photosynthesis in weed

from a pond.

test-tube ga s

beaker
w ater

funnel

pond w eed
plasticine

Bubbles of gas produced during photosynthesis were given off from the pond
weed and collected in the test tube.

(a) Name the gas given off in photosynthesis

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1 mark

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 (b) What two substances are taken in by the plant and used for
photosynthesis?

1. ..................................................................................................................

2. ..................................................................................................................
2 marks

Light of different intensities was shone onto the pond weed. The number of gas
bubbles given off in one minute at each light intensity was counted. The results
are shown in the graph.

nu m be r of
bu bb les pe r
m inu te

A B C D E
lig ht inte nsity

(c) Which letter on the horizontal axis shows the light intensity at which the rate
of photosynthesis first reaches its maximum?

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1 mark

Blue, green and red light were then shone, in turn, onto the pond weed. The
number of bubbles of the gas given off in one minute was counted. The results
are shown in the table.

colour of light num ber of

bubbles in one
m inute
b lue 85
g re en 10
red 68

The leaves of the pond weed contain a green pigment which absorbs light for
photosynthesis

(d) (i) Name this pigment.

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1 mark

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 (ii) Using the information in the table, tick a box by one colour of light
which is strongly absorbed by the pigment.

blue

green

red

1 mark

(e) Sugar is also produced during photosynthesis.

Give two ways in which the plant uses sugar.

1. ..................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................

2. ..................................................................................................................

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2 marks
Maximum 8 marks

3. Plants take in water from the soil. Lisa did an experiment to find out if there is
anything else in soil that plants need for growth.

The diagrams below show the results of Lisa’s experiment.

Lisa made the clear, brown solution in flask B by shaking a mixture of soil and
water and then separating the solution from the soil particles.

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 (a) How could Lisa separate the brown solution from the soil particles?

..........................................................................................................................
1 mark

(b) Explain why Lisa grew one plant in distilled water.

..........................................................................................................................

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1 mark

(c) (i) What type of substance, dissolved in the water in flask B, is used by
the plant for growth?

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1 mark

(ii) How are roots adapted for taking in water?

.................................................................................................................

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1 mark

(d) Lisa set up a second experiment using three similar plants. The solution in
flasks C, D and E was the same. She put all three flasks in a sunny position.
The diagrams below show the results of Lisa’s second experiment.

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 The plant in flask C was the only one which grew well in this experiment.
Explain why.

..........................................................................................................................

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1 mark
Maximum 5 marks

4. The diagram below shows a single-cell organism called Chlamydomonas. It lives in

pond water.

cell w all
cytoplasm
red, light–sensitive spot

chloroplast
nucleus

starch grain cell m em brane

Use the information in the diagram to help you answer the questions below.

(a) Give two features of Chlamydomonas which show that it is more like a plant cell
than an animal cell.

1. ......................................................................................................................

2. ......................................................................................................................
2 marks

(b) Chlamydomonas makes a sugar called glucose.

(i) Give the name of the process in which Chlamydomonas makes glucose.

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1 mark

(ii) Chlamydomonas produces starch grains from glucose.

Suggest what will happen to the number of starch grains in the cell if
Chlamydomonas is kept in the dark.

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1 mark

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 (c) The diagram below shows another single-cell organism called Amoeba.
It also lives in pond water. Amoeba traps a Chlamydomonas and digests it.

not to scale

Starch is a carbohydrate. Amoeba's digestive enzymes break down the starch in

the Chlamydomonas.

Suggest what substance is produced from the starch and what it is used for.

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

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2 marks
Maximum 6 marks

5. The drawing shows part of a blackberry plant.

(a) Photosynthesis takes place in the leaves of the blackberry plant. Complete the
word equation for photosynthesis.

water + carbon dioxide ........................................ + oxygen

1 mark

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 (b) Jonathan studied a blackberry plant growing in a shady place and a blackberry
plant growing in a sunny place.

(i) Jonathan found that the plant in the shady place had larger leaves. Why is it
an advantage for plants in the shade to have leaves with a large surface
area?

.............................................................................................................

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1 mark

(ii) Both blackberry plants had green leaves. What part of the leaf cells makes
the leaf green?

........................................................
1 mark

(c) The diagram below shows a cell from a leaf of a blackberry plant.

The names of four parts of the cell are listed in the table below.

(i) Match the name of each part with a letter from the diagram. Write your
answers in the table.

part letter of part

cell wall

cytoplasm

nucleus

vacuole

4 marks

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 (ii) Which two of the labelled parts are also present in an animal cell? Give the
correct letters from the diagram.

.......................... and ..........................

2 marks
Maximum 9 marks

Medway LEA Advisory Service 10