Parallel or Netted: Monocot or Dicot?
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Fun Experiment to Try at Home!
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Purpose
To collect leaf prints and identify the veins of each as parallel or netted.
Materials
- leaves - three or four sheets of newspaper - two sheets of typing paper - crayon
Procedure
| 1. |
Collect two or three leaves from a tree or bush. Get adult permission to collect the leaves. CAUTION: If students are asked to collect leaves, caution them not to pick leaves from plants such as poison ivy or poison oak. Instruct them to ask for adult assistance before they pick leaves to make sure that the leaves are safe to handle. |
| 2. |
Place three or four sheets of newspaper on a table to protect the table's surface. |
| 3. |
Arrange the leaves on the typing paper with their rough, veined sides up. |
| 4. |
Cover the leaves with the second sheet of typing paper. |
| 5. |
With firm pressure, rub the crayon across the paper over the area of the leaves so that a colored imprint of each leaf is formed. |
Sum It Up!
A colored imprint of each leaf is made. More of the crayon is rubbed off by the rough edges and veins in the leaves, so the stems, veins, and edges of the leaves show up as darker areas on the paper. It is the veins and stems that give support to the leaves. The larger these structures are, the more weight the leaf can support. |
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A leaf can be used as a boat.
The leaves of giant Amazon water lilies have raised rims that act like the sides of a boat. Each leaf has thick veins that keep the leaf from folding up as it floats in the water. These leaves are large enough and strong enough to support the weight of a small child. There are two basic types of leaf patterns, parallel and netted. In leaves with the parallel pattern, such as those of a lily or grass, the large veins run basically parallel to one another. In leaves with a netted pattern, such as those of a sunflower or an oak tree, the veins branch.
For more information about leaves, see "Janice VanCleave's Science Around the Year." (New York: Wiley, 2000)
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