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Science Launch G4 / Week 09 / Wednesday
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Week 09 · Built to Survive

Wednesday

Investigation: Celery climb
// Inside and outside structures of plants and animals
⏱ about 15 min

Wednesday: Celery climb

Rocket holds up a stalk of celery with leafy tops. "Today, this is our tree," he says.

Raven drops blue food coloring into a cup of water. It swirls like a tiny storm.

"If stems carry water up," she says, "how could we see it happen? What do you notice about plain water?"

Rocket thinks. "Plain water is invisible!"

Nova hums. "Here is my hint," she says. "Color the water, then be patient. Check it later."

What you need

  • One stalk of celery with leaves on top
  • A clear cup
  • Water
  • Blue or red food coloring
  • A ruler
Safety first
A grown-up trims the bottom of the celery with a knife.
Food coloring can stain. Wear old clothes and work on a plate.
The celery is for science. Do not eat it.

Steps

  1. Fill the cup halfway with water.
  2. Add ten drops of food coloring and stir.
  3. Put the trimmed celery stalk in the cup, leaves up.
  4. Check after 1 hour. Look at the stalk and the leaves.
  5. Check again after 1 day. Measure how high the color climbed.
  6. Ask a grown-up to cut the stalk across. Look at the cut end.
MAKE A PREDICTION
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
After a day, where will you see the color?
When I checkedWhat I noticedHow high the color went (cm)
After 1 hour
After 1 day
The colored water moved up the celery ____.
The water was heading toward the ____.

What the celery showed

The color climbed up the stalk toward the leaves.

That is evidence that stems carry water up from the bottom.

What you saw at the cut end is more evidence. Your notes are your own data.

CELERY THINKING
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Why did we color the water?
Which tree part does the celery stalk act like?
WATER'S TRIP UP THE CELERY
  • ?Color shows up near the leaves.
  • ?Colored water sits in the cup.
  • ?Water climbs up the stalk.
  • ?The bottom of the stalk takes up water.
WHY THIS EXERCISEThe stalk carried water up, just like a tree trunk.

You saw a stem at work! Tomorrow we explore animal structures, inside and out.

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