This study quide is intended to provide students with information about the types and functions of plants, along with some individual learning activities. The guide contains sections about: (1) the contributions of plants to life on earth and the benefits they afford to humanity; (2) the processes of photosynthesis and respiration; (3) the flow of energy through food chains; (4) plants that do not make their own food (such as saprophytic, parasitic, and carnivorous plants); (5) adaptations of different plant species; (6) the processes of plant reproduction; and (7) the benefit of stability which comes from diverse plant and animal communities. A glossary is included, along with a list of eighteen individual or group learning projects which deal with plants. Information is provided about how to collect plants and a caution is issued about collecting rare and endangered species of plants. A bibliography of field guides and keys, general plant references, plant communities, and natural history is included. (TW)