How Green Plants Feed

Leaves
 Photosynthesis happens inside chloroplasts and this is where enzymes and chlorophyll
catalyze and supply energy to the reaction
 A leaf is a factory for making carbs
 Leaves are specially adapted to allow photosynthesis to take place as quickly as possible
 A leaf consists of a broad, flat part called the lamina which is joined to the rest of the
plant by the petiole/ leaf stalk
 Vascular bundles run through the petiole and form veins on the leaf
 Veins contain tubes which carry substances to and from the leaf
 Leaves are made up of several layers of cells

 The epidermis is a layer that covers the top and bottom of the leaf
 The epidermis cells don’t contain chloroplasts but they protect the inner layers of cells in
the leaf
 Cells of the upper epidermis often secrete a waxy substance that lies on top of them. It is
called the cuticle
 The cuticle helps to stop water evaporating from the leaf
 The stomata are small openings surrounded by a pair of sausage shaped guard cells
 The guard cells open and close the hole and they contain chloroplasts
 The mesophyll contain chloroplasts
  The cells of the palisade layer are arranged like a fence and the cells of the spongy layer
are more sounded and arranged quite loosely with large air spaces between them
 There are veins running through the mesophyll and they contain large, thick walled
xylem vessels and smaller, thin walled phloem vessels
 Xylem vessels carry water
 Phloem vessels carry away sucrose and other substances that the leaf makes

Adaptions of leaves
Carbon dioxide
- obtained from air
- Not very available because 0.04% of air is carbon dioxide
- Held out to air by the stem and leaf stalk
- Mesophyll cells need CO2
- Gets into the leaf by stomata by diffusion
- Behind the stomata is an air space which connects to other spaces in the spongy
mesophyll
- CO2 can then diffuse into the whole leaf and through each cell wall and membrane and
into the chloroplasts
Water
- Obtained from soil
- Absorbed by root hairs and carried up to leaf by xylem vessels
- Travels from xylem vessels to mesophyll cells by osmosis
Sunlight
- Leaves are arranged to get as much sunlight as possible
- Mesophyll cells need sunlight
- Thinness of the leaf allows the sunlight to penetrate right through it and reach all the cells
- Epidermal cells are transparent with no chloroplasts to help
- Chloroplasts are arranged to get as much sun as possible
- Chloroplasts can lie broadside to get sunlight but when it’s too strong, they arrange
themselves end on
- Light absorbed is reduced and chlorophyll is arranged on flat membranes to expose as
much to sunlight
- In the mesophyll cells the chloroplasts are arranged to get as much sunlight as possible
(especially in the palisade cells)
- Inside of chloroplast, the chlorophyll is arranged on flat membranes
Use of Glucose
 Glucose is used for energy- energy is released from the leaf and the obtain energy from
respiration
 Glucose can be stored as starch- starch is stored in the leaf
 Glucose is a reactive substance so it is not a good storage molecule
 Glucose is used to make proteins and other organic substances- the plant uses glucose to
make cellulose and sucrose, even lipids
 Glucose can be changed to sucrose for transport- glucose can be transported easily (small
and soluble) but sucrose is less reactive so glucose changes to sucrose so it can be
transported easier

Photosynthesis Investigations
 A control is when a plant is given everything it needs except for one substance whilst
another is used at the same time
 A control is given everything it needs, including the substance being tested
 At the end you should be able to see which substance is necessary for photosynthesis
 Before testing, make sure the plant doesn’t have starch in it
 Iodine solution is he best way to test starch (turns blue-black if starch is present)
 Cell membranes are broken down by boiling water and chlorophyll is removed by
dissolving with alcohol

Factors Affecting Photosynthesis

 Sunlight- the plant needs light to photosynthesize (but not too much)
 Carbon dioxide- the more carbon dioxide a plant is given, the faster it photosynthesizes
 Temperature- chemical reactions only take place at low temperatures (so plants
photosynthesize better on a warm day)
 Stomata- stomata must be open (but it cannot open on a hot and sunny day because the
water will dry up)