Botany

What structures are unique to plant cells compared with animal cells, and why do plants need them? How do chloroplasts, vacuoles, and cell walls work together to keep a plant alive and healthy? How does the structure of a plant cell reflect its need to perform photosynthesis? What happens inside a chloroplast when a plant is exposed to bright sunlight versus shade? How did scientists first discover and study plant cells, and what tools made that possible?

What are the main steps of photosynthesis, and where in the plant do they occur? How do light intensity, water, and carbon dioxide levels affect the rate of photosynthesis? Why is photosynthesis considered the foundation of most food chains on Earth? How do C3, C4, and CAM plants differ in the way they capture and use carbon dioxide? What evidence do we have that photosynthesis has changed Earth’s atmosphere over time?

What are the major plant hormones, and how does each one influence growth and development? How do plants sense and respond to light and gravity when deciding which way to grow? What is apical dominance, and how does pruning change the way a plant branches? How do plant hormones help a seed know when it is safe to germinate? How have humans used our understanding of plant hormones in agriculture and gardening?

How do flowering plants reproduce sexually, from pollination to seed formation? What roles do insects, birds, and other animals play in the reproduction of flowering plants? How do plant life cycles differ between annual, biennial, and perennial species? What is the difference between self-pollination and cross-pollination, and why does it matter? How have humans selectively bred plants by controlling which individuals reproduce?

What special adaptations help desert plants conserve water and survive extreme heat? How do aquatic plants differ in structure from land plants, and why? What are some examples of carnivorous plants, and how did these unusual strategies evolve? How do trees in different climates (tropical, temperate, boreal) adapt to their environments? Why is plant diversity important for ecosystems and for human life?