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 that describe a kind of tropism. Use the graphic organizer to match the descriptions with the tropism they describe.

• stems

• positive gravitropism

• coils around any object it touches

• thigmotropism

• roots

• negative gravitropism

• grow toward light

• phototropism

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 better 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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In fall, certain kinds of trees lose their leaves and enter a period of dormancy. Dormancy is a period when an organism's growth or activities stop.   Put the sentences in the correct order in which these processes occur to show the steps that lead to dormancy.

• Dead leave fall to the ground

• The leaves begin to change colors

• Sugar and water are moved out of the leaves

• Cooler temperatures and shorter days cause leaves to stop making chlorophyll

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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. 

This image is an example of (a)n​ (a)   affecting her fish’s growth. Other conditions that could affect animal growth include​ (b)   .

• external environmental factor
• hormone
• internal environmental factor 
• lack of food
• genes
• metamorphosis
• type of embryo
• development
• life cycle

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