Book 22, Question 57
How Does a Leaf Turn Sunshine Into Food?
A green leaf is a tiny food factory. It runs on sunshine! A leaf stores only a few percent of the sunlight that hits it. The sugar stores that energy as chemical energy.
More fun facts
- Photosynthesis is the only living process that captures energy from sunlight and stores it in chemical compounds.
- Sunlight energy ends up stored in the chemical bonds of sugar molecules.
- Plants, algae, and cyanobacteria all make their own food using sunlight.
- Animals and fungi rely on the sugars made by photosynthesis for their energy.
- Coal and oil hold sunlight energy captured by photosynthesis 350 to 200 million years ago.
- Some bacteria near deep sea vents make sugars without sunlight, using energy from chemicals instead.
Sources: openstax.org
Questions kids ask
Where does a plant store the Sun's energy?
In sugar molecules it makes, which hold the energy in their chemical bonds.