Understanding Statement: Organisms of all kinds need energy to survive; plants get this energy through a complex event called photosynthesis, which produces energy as well as oxygen, that other organisms can then use to create energy for themselves. 

Introduction: You have probably heard that humans (and animals) breathe in oxygen, and breathe out carbon dioxide.  If so, you probably also know that plants "breathe in" carbon dioxide, and breathe out oxygen.  But do you know how this is done?  Can you explain the process?  Why do trees change colors in the fall?  Do you know what causes them to be red, orange, yellow or even stay green?

Questions:

1. What is photosynthesis?

2. If your plant was kept in a closet and not exposed to any sunlight, what would happen to it?  Why? 

3. What does chlorophyll do to sunlight?

4.  Based on what chlorophyll absorbs, what colors would be absorbed by a red flower, such as a rose?

5. What are the two stages of photosynthesis, what occurs during them, and where do they take place?

6.  Could animals survive without plants?  Could plants survive without animals?  Why or why not?

7.  What causes the leaves to change different colors in the fall? Why do they turn red? Yellow? Orange? Dark Red?

8. What is a food that we eat that contains a lot of Carotene?

9. Using this picture of a chloroplast as well as this one (at the bottom), make a sketch of a chloroplast and label the membranes, stroma, and the thylakoids.

10. True or False: Animals perform respiration to create energy, however because plants perform photosynthesis, they do not have to perform respiration.

11.  After reading these articles, what is one question that you still have about photosynthesis?

Putting it all together: Construct a flow chart showing the inputs and outputs of photosynthesis and where they take place.  All the main steps should be labeled.

"Treeview" Chemical of the week.  Retrieved October 25, 2005 from http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/chemweek/fallcolr/fallcolr.html