Mississippi Science BOT.4.6
The Standard
- BOT.4
- Students will explore the global value of plants and the interaction between humans and plants.
Enrichment: Use an engineering design process to design and conduct an investigation that uses biomimicry to provide a plant-based solution to an environmental challenge. *
2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · Society’s Reliance on Plants
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students design a paper wrap that sheds water like a lotus leaf. They use plant-based wax, compare their wrap with uncoated paper, and change the design based on test results.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student sets a runoff goal, keeps the paper type and number of water drops the same, and records results from repeated trials. They use those results to explain whether their wrap could replace plastic for a specific use.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think water that rolls off at first means the paper will never soak through. Some change the paper type and wax thickness at the same time, making results hard to compare. Others assume a plant-wax coating makes the whole wrap compostable.
How to Assess It
- Give students uncoated paper and paper coated with a soy-wax crayon. Have them tilt each square on a book, count how many of ten water drops run off, and name one change to test next.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Have pairs coat recycled-paper squares with soy-wax crayons, then compare how ten water drops behave on coated and uncoated squares.
Ask, “Would a waxed paper wrap work for wet fruit?” Have students support their answers with runoff counts.
Give pairs three test plans and have them find the one that changes both paper type and wax thickness, then fix it.
Bring a plastic snack wrapper and paper bag; ask students where waxed paper could replace plastic and where it would fail.
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Printable BOT.4.6 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to BOT.4.6, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
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Related Standards
- ZOO.5.3
Enrichment: Use an engineering design process to develop a biomimicry of an arthropod’s exoskeleton to meet a human need. *
- BIO.5.8
Enrichment: Use an engineering design process to create a solution that addresses changing ecological conditions (e.g., climate change, invasive species, loss o...
- ZOO.10.7
Enrichment: Use an engineering design process to develop a possible solution to an environmental issue that currently exists in an ecosystem. *
- BIO.5.9
Enrichment: Use an engineering design process to investigate and model current technological uses of biomimicry to address solutions to real-world problems. *
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