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Trees
Trees are the biggest and oldest living things around us. Find out how roots, trunk and leaves work together, how a tree lifts water higher than a house, what tree rings tell us about the past, and how much carbon a tree locks away. Three ages, each with a text, an experiment, a game, a quiz, a printable worksheet and a teacher sheet.
Ages 6–7Meet a treeTrees are the biggest plants of all. Find out what roots, trunk and leaves do, why some trees lose their leaves in autumn, and who lives in a tree.Ages 10–11How a tree worksA tree is a living water pump and food factory. Find out how water travels from the roots up to the leaves and out into the air, why leaves change colour in autumn, and test which branches give off the most water.Ages 15–16Trees as carbon stores and climate recordsTrees turn carbon dioxide into wood and keep a year-by-year diary in their rings. Use the photosynthesis equation, estimate the carbon locked in a school tree from its girth, and judge how certain such estimates are.