Student Research - Leaves and Light

When leaves do photosynthesis they change sunlight, which is also called "energy," into something else. But, what Cover-Leave it to Leavesexactly do leaves change light (energy) into?

Mostly these two things:

  1. OXYGEN – one of the gases in the air that all living creatures need to survive. When plants exhale, they breathe out oxygen. Hey! That happens to be exactly what we need to breathe in! That works out pretty well, don’t you think?
    Take a deep breath in! – You’re breathing in sunshine!
  2. GLUCOSE – a sugary food that the plant either uses right away or stores for later.
    Even though we say glucose is sugary, it's not like eating a candy bar. When plants store glucose for later, that's what we eat when we eat our vegetables
    YUM!...When you eat carrots you’re eating stored sunshine!

Yep, fortunately for us, and other animals, plants often make more food than they need and store it in their roots, seeds, stems, or fruit. We get some of the energy leaves created for the plant when we eat these parts of the plant.

Luz Ibarra, 4th Grader at Mina Elementary

Copyright 2010, Mary O. Parker
4th Grader, Luz Ibarra, shows the carrots she helped grow in her school garden at Mina Elementary!

Yep, fortunately for us, and other animals, plants often make more food than they need and store it in their roots, seeds, stems, or fruit. We get some of the energy leaves created for the plant when we eat these parts of the plant.

 

 

 

 

 

Leaves and Us =>