Lesson 1 of 2 | Science and Technology / Everyday science
A potato is a stem
Learning outcome
You can say why a potato is a stem, and you can reject the labels root and fruit.
Concepts and why
A potato is a stem tuber. It is an underground stem swollen with stored food. The eyes on a potato are buds. A stem carries buds. A root does not carry buds of that kind. A fruit develops from a flower. A potato does not. So a potato is not a root, and it is not a fruit.
Worked examples
A list asks which plant part a potato is. The answer is a stem. A choice calls the eyes roots. The eyes are buds on the stem.
Common mistakes
Calling a potato a root because it grows underground. The place underground does not decide the part. The buds do. Calling a potato a fruit because it is eaten.
Practice questions
- Which plant part is a potato?
- What are the eyes of a potato?
- Why is a potato not a fruit?
Answers and explanations
- A stem. It is a stem tuber.
- Buds.
- A fruit develops from a flower. A potato does not.
Analogy
A storeroom built as an extra room of the house is still part of the house, even if it sits below the ground floor. The potato is that extra room of the stem. The eyes are the doors where new shoots can start. A root is a different part of the building.
Quick reference
Potato: stem tuber. Eyes: buds. Not a root. Not a fruit.