Experiment #1:

Help, I Can’t Breathe

 

1.                  Review with children that people need air to live.  Do plants need air too?  Tell children that you will use two healthy plants in an experiment to find out.

2.                Explain that the plants breathe through tiny openings that are usually found on the undersides of the leaves.  Ask children what they think would happen if you covered the undersides of all the leaves of one plant with petroleum jelly.  (The tiny holes would get clogged, and the plant would be unable to breathe.)

3.                Ask children to predict what might happen and complete the Science Experiment Form.

4.                Cover the underside of each leaf of one plant with petroleum jelly.  Label it “No Air.”  Leave the other plant as it is and label it “Air.”  For a few weeks care for each plant with water and sunlight.

5.                When the experiment is complete, compare the two plants and discuss the results.  (The plant that had air grew.  The plant that didn’t get air through its leaves withered.)  Have students record the results on their Experiment Form.