Internal structure and growth of the stem
Answers are for parents and teachers.
1
Draw a cross-section of a tree stem and name 6 layers.
Epidermis/cork, cortex parenchyma, bast, cambium, wood, pith.
2
Which tissues are in the bast and which in the wood? Make a table.
Bast: basic (parenchyma), mechanical (bast fibres), conducting (sieve tubes). Wood: conducting (vessels), mechanical (wood fibres), basic (parenchyma).
3
A sawn log has 28 rings. If the tree reached the cut height at age 2, how old was it when felled? (approximate: 28 + 2)
30
4
Measure a young sapling’s height once a month from spring to autumn and record it.
Depends on observation: faster growth in spring–summer, slow in autumn.
5
Why does cutting a ring of bark off around a tree kill it? (Think about the phloem.)
The bast is cut, so organic matter from leaves cannot reach the roots; the roots starve and die.