Photosynthesis

What do plants need to live and grow?

Plants need a lot of the same things that we need to live and grow. They need air, water, food, and space.   Many plants also need soil. However, unlike us, plants make their own food. This process is called photosynthesis.

What are the four parts of a plant?

The four main parts of a plant are the roots, stem, leaves, and flowers.  This week, we've taken a close look at the job of leaves, because leaves are the part of the plant where photosynthesis occurs.

What is photosynthesis?

Photosynthesis happens in the middle of leaves and require air, water, and sunlight to produce sugar. Carbon dioxide (air) is taken in through the tiny holes on the underside of a leaf. Sunlight is absorbed by the plant. Water travels in from the soil to the roots, up the stem, and into the leaf. From the three ingredients, the plant produces sugar (food) and oxygen. The oxygen leaves the plant through tiny holes in the underside of the leaf, and the sugar travels down the stem and throughout the plant to provide nutrients. 

What did we find so interesting about the process of photosynthesis?

Plants need carbon dioxide, a gas that we breathe out, in order to live and grow. On the other hand, we need oxygen, a gas that is given off by plants, in order to live and thrive. We now see the important and mutual relationship between the two.

To take a closer look at the process, you can find this diagram either in your on-line science textbook in Chapter 5, Lesson 1, or you can refer to your green science handout in your red homework folder.