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Plant Nutrient Deficiencies (Grades 9-12)

Students will recognize that plants, like people, require essential nutrients to be present in the right amounts in order to be healthy, use reference materials to diagnose plant nutrient deficiencies, define fertilizer as a type of “food” for plants, and appreciate that fertilizers are used to replenish nutrients in agricultural soils.

Grades
9 – 12
Estimated Time
1 hour
Updated
January 31, 2024
Deficiency of minerals in plant. lack of nitrogen, potassium. Sick yellow currant leaves.
Image: Andrey Maximenko/iStock

Background

Lesson Activities

Credits

Author

Nutrients for Life Foundation

Sources

  • Nutrients for Life Foundation
  • BSCS-Biological Science Curriculum Study
  • Reviewed by Smithsonian Institution

Standards

National Content Area Standards

  • Career & Technical Education
    • AFNR (Grades 9-12): Plant Science Systems Career Pathway
      • PS.01.01: Determine the influence of environmental factors on plant growth.
      • PS.01.02: Prepare and manage growing media for use in plant systems.
      • PS.01.03: Develop and implement a fertilization plan for specific plants or crops.
  • Science
    • HS-ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
      • HS-ESS3-4: Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems.
    • HS-ETS1: Engineering Design
      • HS-ETS1-1: Analyze a major global challenge to specify qualitative and quantitative criteria and constraints for solutions that account for societal needs and wants.
    • HS-LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
      • HS-LS2-1: Use mathematical and/or computational representations to support explanations of factors that affect carrying capacity of ecosystems at different scales.