What do plants eat

Do plants eat? Yes, but not like we do. Instead of going to the kitchen, the local store, or restaurant for a meal, they get food using a process called photosynthesis. Just knowing these root words gives a hint about the way plants get their food.

They make it using light. Like animals, plants need energy to do work. Humans and other animals eat food to get energy. Your day might include cereal for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch and maybe a salad and fish for dinner. These foods and also many of the things we drink give us energy. When plants make sugars, where do they get all the materials they need to grow? Plants don't eat food. They use the energy from the sun, or other light and use it to make their food.

The ingredients for this process are water, air, and light. They produce oxygen during this process. Plants use photosynthesis to make sugar. Just like eating sugar gives humans energy to work and play, sugar allows plants to grow and do other important work. Like its name, photosynthesis can be split into two parts. The first part is the light-dependent reactions. Why Teach Engineering in K? Find more at TeachEngineering. Quick Look. Print this lesson Toggle Dropdown Print lesson and its associated curriculum.

Suggest an edit. Discuss this lesson. Activities Associated with this Lesson Units serve as guides to a particular content or subject area. Do Plants Eat? TE Newsletter. Subscribe to TE Newsletter. Summary Through a teacher-led discussion, students realize that the food energy plants obtain comes from sunlight via the plant process of photosynthesis.

They learn what photosynthesis is, at an age-appropriate level of detail and vocabulary, and then begin to question how we know that photosynthesis occurs, if we cannot see it happening. This prepares students for the associated activity using Elodea, a common water plant suitable to directly observe evidence of photosynthesis.

When Elodea is placed in a glass beaker near a good light source, bubbles of oxygen release as products of photosynthesis. By counting the number of bubbles that rise to the surface in a five-minute period, students can compare the photosynthetic activity of Elodea in the presence of high and low light levels. Engineering Connection Students perform data analysis and reverse engineering to understand how photosynthesis works.

Grades 6 - 8 Do you agree with this alignment? Science knowledge is based upon logical connections between evidence and explanations. Plants, algae including phytoplankton , and many microorganisms use the energy from light to make sugars food from carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and water through the process of photosynthesis, which also releases oxygen.

These sugars can be used immediately or stored for growth or later use. The chemical reaction by which plants produce complex food molecules sugars requires an energy input i. In this reaction, carbon dioxide and water combine to form carbon-based organic molecules and release oxygen. North Carolina - Science Explain the significance of the processes of photosynthesis, respiration, and transpiration to the survival of green plants and other organisms.

Grade 6 More Details View aligned curriculum Do you agree with this alignment? Understand the structures, processes and behaviors of plants that enable them to survive and reproduce. Middle School Lesson. Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration at the Atomic Level Students learn about photosynthesis and cellular respiration at the atomic level and study the basic principles of electromicrobiology—a new field of research that may enable engineers to harness energy at the molecular level.

Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration at the Atomic Level. Upper Elementary Lesson. Planting Thoughts Students gain an understanding of the parts of a plant, plant types and how they produce their own food from sunlight through photosynthesis. Planting Thoughts. Photosynthesis — Life's Primary Energy Source This lesson covers the process of photosynthesis and the related plant cell functions of transpiration and cellular respiration. Photosynthesis — Life's Primary Energy Source.

Soil does not provide them the energy they need to live and grow. So why did early farmers find that plants grew better when manure was spread over the fields? This is where fertilizers come in. They are not food.

What fertilizers do is provide some of the minerals — such as iron, nitrogen, magnesium, potassium and calcium — plants need to absorb from the soil to be healthy. Indeed, the better analogy for what fertilizers are and do for plants is to compare them to vitamins rather than food. Very tiny amounts of vitamins — think if that little pill you take in the morning — are all that are needed to make us healthy.

Only small amounts of fertilizers are needed to keep plants healthy. But people often put out more than needed. And more is not necessarily better. Some vitamins can be toxic at high levels, just as you can damage your plants by applying too much fertilizer. And people never mistake the little vitamin pill they take with the food they need. So the relationship plants have with light is not just about what levels plants prefer. Light is their sustenance.

It is what they consume to live. Forgot your password? Get help. Password recovery. What Do Plants Eat for Food? Facebook Pinterest Twitter LinkedIn. Comment: Please enter your comment! Recent Posts. How to Grow Snake Plant in Water. If you are a succulent connoisseur and looking for Rare Succulents that are Really Unique and attractive, Join our 2.

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