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How do plants make food?
Plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide from the air to make their own sugar; this is called photosynthesis.
Plants don't go to a kitchen and cook like we do. They make their own food in their leaves. The green colour in leaves, called chlorophyll, catches sunlight. The plant takes in water through its roots, and pulls in carbon dioxide gas from the air through tiny holes in its leaves.
Sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide all come together inside the leaf. The plant uses them to make sugar. This sugar gives the plant the energy it needs to grow. This process is called photosynthesis.
During photosynthesis, the plant also makes oxygen gas as a leftover, and releases it into the air. We use that oxygen when we breathe. So plants both make their own food and give us clean air to breathe.
Quick facts
- Plants make their food through a process called photosynthesis.
- Photosynthesis needs sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide.
- Chlorophyll in the leaves catches the sunlight.
- Plants take in water from the soil through their roots.
- At the end of photosynthesis, the plant makes sugar and oxygen.
- We use the oxygen that plants make when we breathe.
Check what you remember
4 questions — all of them come from the quick facts above. There is no score and no wrong turn.
1. What process do plants use to make their food?
2. Which substance in leaves catches sunlight?
3. Where do plants get their water from?
4. What gas do plants make at the end of photosynthesis?
Where this comes from
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1 tr.wikipedia.org 85/100Photosynthesis - Wikipedia
An encyclopedia page that explains simply how photosynthesis works.
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2 tr.wikipedia.org 75/100Chlorophyll - Wikipedia
Gives information about the substance that makes leaves green.
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3 nasa.gov 60/100NASA Home Page
The space agency's site, where you can find information about the sun and Earth.
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