Fill Table 10.3 with your predictions and observations. Hole on the back side of the box Inner view of the box (a) (b) (c) (a) Upright plant kept in sunlight from all directions (b) Inverted plant kept in sunlight from all directions (c) Upright plant kept in sunlight from one direction Fig. 10.2, p

Here is Table 10.3 completed. Fill your predictions before you set the beakers aside, and the observations after 4 to 7 days. Beakers Direction of sunlight Direction of plant Shoot / Root Predictions Observations A All directions Upright Shoot Grows upwards Grew straight upwards Root Grows downwards Grew straight downwards B All directions Inverted Shoot May keep growing downwards Bent and turned upwards Root May keep growing upwards Bent and turned downwards C Only from one direction Upright Shoot Grows upwards Grew upwards and bent towards the hole through which light entered Root Grows downwards Grew downwards, ignoring the light Tip: keep the blotting paper wet throughout and make sure the seedling itself stays above the water level. A seedling standing in water will rot — exactly what happened to Pot B in Activity 10.2.

NCERT Solutions for Class 6th Science Chapter 10 .3 — Activity 10.3: Let us design (2026-27)

Q1.

Fill Table 10.3 with your predictions and observations.

Fig. 10.2, page 192 — redrawn sketch of the set-up: three beakers with a seedling fixed on a glass plate, kept in different conditions.

Beakers	Direction of sunlight	Direction of plant	Direction of growth of root and shoot
Beakers	Direction of sunlight	Direction of plant	Shoot/Root	Predictions	Observations
A	All directions	Upright	Shoot
A	All directions	Upright	Root
B	All directions	Inverted	Shoot
B	All directions	Inverted	Root
C	Only from one direction	Upright	Shoot
C	Only from one direction	Upright	Root

Table 10.3, page 193 — reproduced as printed in the book, for you to fill in.

Answer

Here is Table 10.3 completed. Fill your predictions before you set the beakers aside, and the observations after 4 to 7 days.

Beakers	Direction of sunlight	Direction of plant	Shoot / Root	Predictions	Observations
A	All directions	Upright	Shoot	Grows upwards	Grew straight upwards
A	All directions	Upright	Root	Grows downwards	Grew straight downwards
B	All directions	Inverted	Shoot	May keep growing downwards	Bent and turned upwards
B	All directions	Inverted	Root	May keep growing upwards	Bent and turned downwards
C	Only from one direction	Upright	Shoot	Grows upwards	Grew upwards and bent towards the hole through which light entered
C	Only from one direction	Upright	Root	Grows downwards	Grew downwards, ignoring the light

Tip: keep the blotting paper wet throughout and make sure the seedling itself stays above the water level. A seedling standing in water will rot — exactly what happened to Pot B in Activity 10.2.

Q2.

What is the direction of growth of root and shoot in beakers A, B and C based on your observations? Do your predictions match your observations? What do you conclude from this activity?

Answer

The results, as the book records them:

When the plant is kept upright, the root grows downwards and the shoot grows upwards. (Beaker A)
When the plant is kept inverted, the root bends and grows downwards. Also, the shoot bends and grows upwards. (Beaker B)
When the plant gets sunlight only from one direction, the shoot grows in the direction of light while the root continues to grow downwards. (Beaker C)

What Activity 10.3 shows: whichever way the seedling is placed, the root ends up growing downwards and the shoot upwards.

Do the predictions match? For beaker A they usually do. For beaker B most students predict wrongly — they expect the inverted plant to carry on growing the wrong way round. It does not. Being proved wrong here is the most valuable part of the activity.

Conclusion: shoots of plants grow upward and move towards sunlight, but roots of plants grow downwards.

Why the plant behaves like this: the shoot must lift its leaves into the light and air to make food, so it grows away from the pull of the earth and towards light. The root must find water, minerals and a firm hold, all of which lie below, so it grows towards the pull of the earth and takes no notice of light. This is why a seed thrown carelessly into a field still comes up the right way round.

Know a scientist: Jagadish Chandra Bose (1858–1937), an Indian scientist, built a machine called the crescograph to record how plants respond to stimuli such as light, heat, electricity and gravity. With it he could measure how fast plants grow, and he showed that plants can sense and respond to stimuli.