How Plants Use Water - an experiment

Laura had an experiment to show how plants use water.  It's a simple experiment using celery and food coloring.

First, the water.  Had a little trouble when I realized that my food coloring was all gone.  I used some tabs that I had for dyeing Easter eggs.  It didn't work as well as I had hoped, but it still did the trick well enough for the experiment to be classified as a success.

With the water dyed, I cut a piece of celery.

The book had a jar in use, but I used a large cup.

In went the celery for a couple days.

When the celery stalk was pulled out you could see how the water had been sucked into the stalk.  Laura has learned how plants get minerals from the soil through water.  She also has learned how a large tree can take in as much as 600 pounds or more of water on a hot summer day.  However, she has learned that the tree isn't necessarily 600 pounds heavier since trees and plants give off water into the air through their leaves and fruit.

Laura has studied this week about water and animals too.  This includes the use of water in humans.  This kind of gets into a brief health lesson.  She has went from humans need water to aid in digestion to care of teeth.  Chewing is the first step in digestion, so a quick lesson on caring for our teeth is in order.