Fungi are Alive! - Ms. Runyan's Classroom - Home

Fu ngFiunagrie aArleivAel!ive!

Cross-CCurorsrsi-cCuulrarricuFolacrusF:ocLuifse: LSicfeieSnccieence

Youmightthinkthatall livingthingsareclassifiedaseitherplantsor animals,buttherearesomemysteriouslittleorganismswhichareneither,yet arestill alive.Manyareinvisible, hidingdeepinthegroundorfloatingsilentlyon the air.Unlikeplants,theydonotrelyontheheatorlightofthesunforsurvival. Theyhavenochlorophyllanddonot createfoodthroughphotosynthesis.They mustfindasourceof nutrientsoutsidethemselves.Theyareveryadaptableto anyweatherconditions.Iftemperaturesfalltoolowtosupportlife,theygointoa deepsleep.Thissleepislikethehibernationstatethatsomeanimalsuseduring thecoldest partofthewinter.Inthisinactivestate,theywait forlivingconditions

Cross-Curricular Reading Comprehension Worksheets: E-15 of 36

Name: ______________________________________ Answerthefollowingquestionsbasedonthereading passage. Don'tforgettogobacktothepassage whenever necessa ry to find or confirm your answers.

1)Whycan'tfungimaketheirownfoodusing photosynthesis? _____________________________________

_____________________________________

to getbetter.

Thesemysteriouslittlecreaturesareallaroundus.Wecallthemfungi,and we evenusetheirextraordinaryabilitiestohelpusproducesomeofourfavorite foods. Ifyouenjoybitingintoanice,fluffypieceofbread, youcanthank the yeast thathelpedthebreadrise.Yes,yeastisafungus. If you like mushrooms on yourpizzaorinyoursalad,youareeatingfungi,too.

Becauseoffungi,weareabletocontrolnastyinfectionswithantibiotics. Youmayhaveheardofthemostcommonantibiotic:penicillin.Dr.Alexander Flemingdiscoveredpenicillinin1928completelybyaccident.Helefthisscience experiment outon thecounterinsteadof cleaningupafterhimself.When hPeenciacmillienbhaacdkbferoemndhiisscvoavcearetiodn. , astrangebluish fungus was growing on it.

Aspeoplebecomemoreawareofbetterways tomeet oursurvival needs without harmingourplanet,wearefindingmoreandmoreusesforfungi.Wecan createpesticidestocontrolinsectsandmakedetergentsthat aremoreEarth- friendly.Itmakessensethat fungicandothingswithoutharmingEarth. They havebeenturningdeadplantmaterialsintorichsoilforthousandsofyears.They eatthenutrientsthat wouldotherwise bewasted.Withoutthem,we'dbewalking aroundonthicklayersof deadleavesandotherdiscardedplantmaterials.

Althoughtherearemanygoodthingsabout fungi,wemustnotforget that somefungiareharmful.Therearecertainvarietiesthatwillmakeussickorgive

us skinreactions,likeathlete'sfoot.Itisimportanttobeawareofthevarious

typesoffungi.Wecanbenefitfromthegoodfungiandprotectourselvesfrom

the harmfulones.

2)Nameatleasttwowaysthatfungicanbe beneficial forus. _____________________________________

_____________________________________

3)Giveanexampleofonewaythat fungi canbe

harmfulforus. _____________________________________ _______ ______________________________

4)Whatdofungidowhenit getstoocold for them? _____________________________________

_____________________________________

5)Imagineaworldwithnofungi.Howwouldtheir absenceimpactyour life?

_____________________________________ _____________________________________

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