Browsing through a seed catalog, you are tempted to order several beautiful floral varieties, but worry that you will spend too much on your garden every year. Which plants should you buy?

Question

A.  herbaceous perennials, which will come back year after year
B.  woody perennials, which require little space and few resources
C.  annuals, which will come back year after year
D.  biennials, which will last twenty years before they die

Clarify Question
What is the key concept addressed by the question?
What type of thinking is required?

Gather Content
What do you already know about annuals and perennials? What other information is related to the question?

Choose Answer
Given what you now know, what information is most likely to produce the correct answer?

Reflect on Process
Did your problem-solving process lead you to the correct answer? If not, where did the process break down or lead you astray? How can you revise your approach to produce a more desirable result?
 

Answer 1

A.  herbaceous perennials, which will come back year after year

Clarify Question
What is the key concept addressed by the question?
        · This question is asking you to identify the most cost-effective way to enhance a garden.
What type of thinking is required?
        · Evaluate level:
            o This question is asking you to evaluate the best way to add flowers to a garden while keeping cost to a minimum.

Gather Content
What do you already know about annuals and perennials? What other information is related to the question?
        · Annuals produce showy flowers, but they die after one year.
        · Biennials do not flower during the first year of their life, and may flower only once in their lifetime.
        · Herbaceous perennials live for multiple years and can flower every year.
        · Woody perennials may take longer to mature, but can flower every year after maturation.

Choose Answer
Given what you now know, what information is most likely to produce the correct answer?
        · Since annuals and biennials may flower only one time in their life, although they can be beautiful displays of flowering, they are not cost-effective foe a long-term garden. Woody perennials can produce flowers also. However they can take years to mature; they take up more space; and they may require a greater initial investment of money. Herbaceous perennials are a cost-effective choice because they produce flowers the first year they are planted and continue to flower for multiple years.

Reflect on Process
Did your problem-solving process lead you to the correct answer? If not, where did the process break down or lead you astray? How can you revise your approach to produce a more desirable result?
        · Evaluate level:
            o Answering this question correctly depended on your evaluation annuals, perennials, and biennials. If you got an incorrect answer, did you remember that annuals and biennials differ from perennials because their lifecycles differ, or the criteria to compare annuals, biennials, and perennials includes the number of seasons that the plants can be expected to exhibit flowering? Did you have trouble weighing the merits of annuals, biennials, and perennials to determine the correct answer?