THE ACTIONS OF PLANTS. 187 



The action of the root in sucking up water is 

 named ABSORPTION. 



The action of leaves in giving off water is called 



TRANSPIRATION. 



The roots absorb. The leaves transpire. 



There are two more words that these experiments 

 illustrate. The first of these is the word ORGAN. An 

 organ is any part of a plant or animal that does a 

 particular kind of work different from that done by 

 other parts. 



Is the root an organ ? "What do your legs do that 

 no other part of your body can do ? ATP, they organs ? 

 Is your tongue an organ ? Are leaves organs ? 



The other word to be explained is FUNCTION. Or- 

 gans have functions. The function of an organ is 

 what it .does. What is the function of your eye ? 

 What is the function of a bird's wings ? What func- 

 tion of roots have you discovered by your experiments ? 

 What is one of the functions of leaves ? 



Remember that the particular work any organ 

 does is its FUNCTION. 



