Student Research Page - What Do Leaves Do?

What Do Leaves Do?

Who needs leaves?Cover-Leave it to Leaves

You do! .

..and your dog, and your cat, and the birds, and the bees, and worms, and your brother, and your sister, and your mom, and your dad, and...and...well, you get the picture!

The truth is, all living creatures need leaves, even if they don't eat them. If leaves suddenly disappeared from Earth nothing could survive, including us!

Leaves do something super important – something that supports all life on Earth - something called "photosynthesis" (fo-toe-sin-thuh-sis).

Photo Synthesis Definition

 

"photo" + "synthesis" = light change

The prefix "photo" means "light." The suffix "synthesis" means "change." So...Plants change the light from the sun into something else.

Photo Synthesis Graphic

How? Well...check out this diagram and you'll notice how plants also use carbon dioxide from the air, water from the soil, and light from the sun (called "energy" in this diagram) to do photosynthesis.

 

Follow this link see an animated photosynthesis diagram: http://earthguide.ucsd.edu/earthguide/diagrams/photosynthesis/photosynthesis.html

This diagram reminds you that photosynthesis is done so the plant can grow.

 

 Leaves and Light =>