Don’t close this browser tab!

This Mystery is being downloaded to your device so you can play it at home without an Internet connection.

Keep this tab open once it's downloaded in order to play the Mystery.

If you experience problems, please talk to your teacher.

0% Cancel
How much water should you give a plant?

How much water should you give a plant?

Lesson narration:
Scroll for prep
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Slide Image
DISCUSS:
Why do you think this plant wilted?
Can you think of anything I could have done differently to keep the plant healthy?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Slide Image
DISCUSS:
What’s DIFFERENT about these two places?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Slide Image
DISCUSS:
How could you figure out whether these mystery plants would grow better in the
Desert Dome or in the Tropical Dome?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
01/18
You’ll work with a partner.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
02/18
Get your supplies.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
03/18
Get your Build-Your-Own Experiment sheet.
First, cut along the thick gray line. Then, cut along all the dotted lines.
Separate the pieces into 3 piles.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
04/18
Get your Water Experiment worksheet and two Mystery Plant
pieces. Turn the pieces over. Lay them on the scrap paper. Add glue.
Then, place one Mystery Plant in Box A and the other in Box B.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
05a/18
Water Experiment. We want to figure out how much WATER the
Mystery Plants need to stay healthy. So, which idea do you think
would help us figure it out? Why do you think that?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
05b/18
Here’s what we noticed.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
06/18
Get two Sun pieces, add glue, and place one in box A and one in box B
on your Water Experiment worksheet. Add color using crayons.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
07/18
Get two water container pieces, add glue, and place them on your
experiment worksheet. Then, use your blue crayon to color in the
different amounts of water that will be given to each plant.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
08/18
Bianca gave the plant in Box A lots of water. She gave the plant in
Box B just a little water. Here’s what the plants looked like after the
end of the experiment. Discuss:
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
09/18
Here’s what we noticed.
Draw the new leaves and color your plants with crayon to show what
the Mystery Plants looked like after the Water Experiment.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
10/18
Discuss.
Then, circle the answer on your Water Experiment worksheet.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
11/18
Get your Sunlight Experiment worksheet and two Mystery Plant
pieces. Turn the pieces over and add glue to the back.
Then, place one Mystery Plant in Box A and the other in Box B.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
12a/18
Sunlight Experiment. Which idea do you think would work best to
find out how much SUNLIGHT the Mystery Plants need to stay
healthy? Why do you think that?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
12b/18
Here’s what we noticed.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
13/18
Find two water container pieces. Turn them over and add glue to the
back. Then, place one in Box A and the other in Box B. Use your
crayon to color in the amount of water that you’ll give to each plant.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
14/18
Find two Sun pieces. Turn them over and add glue to the back.
Then, place one in Box A and the other in Box B.
Add shade to Box B.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
15/18
Here’s what Ahmed observed after running his experiment for
several weeks.
Discuss:
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
16/18
Here’s what we noticed.
Draw the new leaves and color your plants with crayon to show what
the Mystery Plants looked like after the Sunlight Experiment.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
17/18
Discuss.
Then, circle the answer on your Sunlight Experiment worksheet.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
18/18
Discuss.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen

DISCUSS:

Imagine you tried to set up these experiments in REAL LIFE.

Can you think of any new challenges you might face if you tried these experiments in the real world?

Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Slide Image
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Slide Image

soil


1 of 8

tiny pieces of rock and other materials that cover the ground
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Slide Image

sunlight


2 of 8

light from the Sun
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Slide Image

cactus


3 of 8

a type of plant that usually has spikes and is found in the desert
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Slide Image

habitat


4 of 8

the place where an animal or plant lives
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Slide Image

desert


5 of 8

a habitat that is usually hot and that gets very little rain
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Slide Image

rainforest


6 of 8

a habitat that is usually warm and gets lots of rain
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Slide Image

investigate


7 of 8

to figure out the answer to a question or to understand how something works
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Slide Image

experiment


8 of 8

a test used to discover new information about a question
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Lesson narration:

Activity Prep

Print Prep

In this lesson, students investigate how different plants grow best under very different conditions, ranging from deserts to tropical rainforests. In the activity, Puzzling Plants, students plan and conduct virtual experiments in order to determine how much water and sunlight a set of mystery plants need to grow and stay healthy.

Preview activity

Exploration

15 mins

Wrap-Up

10 mins

Extend this lesson