Seeds and bulbs grow into new plants. Year 2 scientists find out what a seed needs to start growing (germinate), what a young plant needs to stay healthy, and how seeds get spread around.
What your child will learn
- Know that seeds and bulbs grow into mature plants
- Know that seeds need water and warmth to germinate
- Know that plants need water, light and a suitable temperature to stay healthy
- Describe how plants grow towards the light
From seed to seedling
A seed contains a tiny baby plant and a store of food. Given water and warmth it germinates: first a root grows down, then a shoot grows up towards the light. Seeds don’t need light to start growing — they sprout in dark soil — but the seedling needs light to make food once its leaves open.
A bulb, like an onion or tulip bulb, is an underground food store that sends up a new plant each year.
Example questions
Here are a few questions like the ones in the first quest. Can you solve them?
1. Which of these is a seed?
🌰- An acorn
- A petal
- A leaf
- A pebble
Show answer
Answer: An acorn. An acorn is the seed of an oak tree.
2. What do plants need to stay healthy?
- Only water
- Only soil
- Water, light and the right temperature
- Only darkness
Show answer
Answer: Water, light and the right temperature. Plants need water, light and to be not too hot or too cold.
3. Where are apple seeds found?
🍎- In the bark
- In the leaves
- In the roots
- Inside the apple
Show answer
Answer: Inside the apple. The pips inside an apple are its seeds.
Tips for grown-ups
- Grow a bean in a clear jar against wet paper towels to watch the root and shoot.
- Put one plant in a cupboard and one on a windowsill and compare them after a week.
- Cut open an onion to see the layers of stored food.