Topic 1 Lesson 4 Factors Influencing Growth

While out hiking in the woods, Ian sees several wild grapevines wrapped around some tree trunks and branches. He notices the broad leaves and curling, forking tendrils of the vines that loop around the tree branches. This makes him think about the factors that influence the way things grow. Which factors contribute to the way organisms grow and develop? Choose the three that apply.

• Genetics

• Size

• Response to stimuli

• structures

• access to resources

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Vivienne visits a botanical garden in a nearby city and sees a plant commonly called Touch-Me-Not. She touches the tip of the leaf of this plant, known as Mimosa pudica, with her finger and watches the leaves close. She later learns that chemicals trigger this reaction.

Plants respond to stimuli in different ways.

Read each of the words or phrases sentences that describe a kind of tropism.

• Roots

• Positive Gravitropism

• Stems

• Phototropism

• Coils around any object it touches

• Thigmotropism

• Grows toward light

• Negative Gravitropism

As fall arrived, Steven saw that many homes had chrysanthemums planted in their flowerbeds. Their golden colors always signal the oncoming fall season. Many plants respond to seasonal changes.

Why might a plant such as a chrysanthemum bloom during the fall?

• • The plant may be conditioned to live in a particular climate.

• • The plant may be better suited to survive in cooler weather.

• • The plant may be unable to adapt to cold weather.

• • The plant may not respond to seasonal changes.

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As fall arrived, Steven saw that many homes had chrysanthemums planted in their flowerbeds. Their golden colors always signal the oncoming fall season. Many plants respond to seasonal changes. This is an example of (a)   , a period when an organism’s growth or activities stop.

Ava had a pet goldfish, and she loved feeding it and watching it swim around in its bowl. After four months, she noticed that her fish hadn’t grown much, so she looked up information about caring for goldfish. She learned that unless she made changes, her goldfish would remain small.

Look at the picture, and choose the correct words to finish the sentences.

The image shows an example of a(n) ​ (a)   affecting her fish’s growth. Other conditions that could affect animal growth include genes  .

• external environmental factor
• hormones
•   lack of food
• internal environmental factor 

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