What Does a Plant Need?

Photosynthesis experiment worksheet for middle school life science. Students read the results of a simple, four-plant controlled experiment — each plant given everything except one thing — and use the evidence to work out exactly what a plant needs to make its own food.

This scaffolded, one-page activity builds real data-analysis skill: students compare conditions, isolate the one variable that changed, and draw a conclusion straight from the results table. Question 3 targets the input kids most often forget — carbon dioxide from the air — heading off the common belief that plants need only sunlight and water.

Everything is print-and-go: one clean student page plus a compact answer key. The reading level is set for grades 5–8, and the bolded ‘missing’ variable in each row makes the controlled-variable design easy to see and discuss.

Use it as a warm-up, a lab-free data reading, an exit ticket, or homework. It supports NGSS MS-LS1-6 (role of photosynthesis in matter and energy) and strengthens the close-reading skills in CCSS RST.6-8.3. It also pairs with our photosynthesis sequencing worksheet. Just print and teach.