Comparative Plant Anatomy: Monocot vs. Dicot Lab
An online microscope lab for middle school and high school science on StudyScope. Students work through 15 real prepared microscope slides in order: Corn Stem (Cross Section), Rice Stem (Cross Section), Wheat Stem (Cross Section), Pumpkin Stem (Cross Section), Sunflower Stem (Cross Section), Tilia Stem (Cross Section) and 9 more.
- Grade level
- Middle school and high school
- Subject
- Botany & Plants
- Slides
- 15
- NGSS
- MS-LS1-3, HS-LS1-2
NGSS alignment
- MS-LS1-3: Argue from evidence that the body is a system of interacting subsystems made of groups of cells.
- HS-LS1-2: Model the hierarchical organization of interacting systems that provide specific functions within multicellular organisms.
Lab steps
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Stem Vascular Organization - Corn Stem CS (Monocot)
Slide: Corn Stem (Cross Section)
- Load the Corn Stem CS and zoom to 20x magnification to examine a single vascular bundle. Locate the large xylem vessels (the "eyes") and the phloem region (the "forehead"). Compare this arrangement with the Sunflower Stem CS or Pumpkin Stem CS. Note whether the vascular bundles are arranged in a ring or scattered randomly across the stem.
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Stem Vascular Organization - Rice Stem CS (Monocot)
Slide: Rice Stem (Cross Section)
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Stem Vascular Organization - Wheat Stem CS (Monocot)
Slide: Wheat Stem (Cross Section)
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Stem Vascular Organization - Pumpkin Stem CS (Dicot)
Slide: Pumpkin Stem (Cross Section)
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Stem Vascular Organization - Sunflower Stem CS (Dicot)
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Stem Vascular Organization - Tilia Stem CS (Dicot)
Slide: Tilia Stem (Cross Section)
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Root Tissue Architecture - Zea Root Tip CS/LS (Monocot)
Slide: Zea Root Tip (Longitudinal Section)
- Open the Young Root of Broad Bean CS and navigate to the center of the root. Identify the central star-shaped Xylem structure. Switch to the Zea Root CS and locate the central pith. Record how the xylem vessels are arranged around the pith in the monocot root vs. the dicot root.
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Root Tissue Architecture - Young Root of Broad Bean CS (Dicot)
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Root Tissue Architecture - Cotton Root CS (Dicot)
Slide: Cotton Root (Cross Section)
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Root Tissue Architecture - Radish Root CS (Dicot)
Slide: Radish Root (Cross Section)
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Leaf Epidermis & Stomatal Distribution - Lily Leaf CS (Monocot
Slide: Lily Leaf (Cross Section)
- Select Tradescantia Leaf Epidermis and examine the layout of the guard cells under high power. Switch to Broad Bean Lower Epidermis and observe the pattern of the stomatal openings. Compare the linear alignment in monocots against the scattered distribution in dicots.
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Leaf Epidermis & Stomatal Distribution - Tradescantia Leaf Epidermis (Monocot)
Slide: Lower Epidermis of Tradescantia reflexa Leaf (Whole Mount)
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Leaf Epidermis & Stomatal Distribution - Cotton Leaf CS (Dicot)
Slide: Cotton Leaf (Cross Section)
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Leaf Epidermis & Stomatal Distribution - Broad Bean Lower Epidermis (Dicot)
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Leaf Epidermis & Stomatal Distribution - Sunflower Leaf CS (Dicot)
Slides used in this lab
- Corn Stem (Cross Section)
- Rice Stem (Cross Section)
- Wheat Stem (Cross Section)
- Pumpkin Stem (Cross Section)
- Sunflower Stem (Cross Section)
- Tilia Stem (Cross Section)
- Zea Root Tip (Longitudinal Section)
- Young Root of Broad Bean (Cross Section)
- Cotton Root (Cross Section)
- Radish Root (Cross Section)
- Lily Leaf (Cross Section)
- Lower Epidermis of Tradescantia reflexa Leaf (Whole Mount)
- Cotton Leaf (Cross Section)
- Lower Epidermis of Broad Bean Leaf (Whole Mount)
- Sunflower Leaf (Cross Section)
Teach it live or assign it
Present the lab live and every student screen follows your slide, zoom, and current step, with students joining by room code on Chromebooks, iPads, or any browser, no student accounts. Or share a link so students work through the steps at their own pace. Add the lesson to your library to edit the steps, reorder slides, and add your own teacher notes.