Fun Photosynthesis!!!

Age group: Elementary School (K-3rd Grade)

Keywords: Plants, Photosynthesis, Leaf, Sunlight, Air, Water, Trees

Estimate of time commitment: 3 Hours: Set-up is 30 minutes and Results take about 3 hours

Materials needed: Leaf, small rock, glass bowl, water, sunny area

*Background for children:

Humans get their energy from foods like pizza, but plants get their energy differently. Plants need sunlight from the sun and nutrients from the environment in order to have energy. To make their food (glucose, a type of sugar) they use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide from the air. Plants absorb water and nutrients through their roots and take in carbon dioxide through tiny holes that open and close called stomata. Stomata allow air molecules to enter and leave the leaves. The stomata are similar to your nose or mouth! Both help you breathe and exchange air molecules.

Plants get some energy from the sun through a structure in their cells called the chloroplast. Chloroplast contains chlorophyll which is responsible for collecting energy from the sunlight. Chlorophyll also gives leaves its green color. Chlorophyll is crucial for allowing plants to undergo photosynthesis. Once energy is collected photosynthesis occurs and the plants release oxygen into the air through their stomata. You breathe in this oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide which can be used by plants to continue the cycle.

What happens when you blow out air underwater in a pool? What do you think would happen if you put a leaf underwater and gave it all its ingredients (sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water) to undergo photosynthesis.

For more information watch this video:

*Description of activity:

1. Go outside and find a small rock and big green leaf from a tree.
2. Grab a clear glass bowl and fill it with water.
3. Put the leaf in the glass bowl and then place the rock in the center of the leaf to keep it underwater.
4. Go play for a few hours as you let the leaf sit underwater.
5. Go back after about 3 hours and write down any changes you observed. Is it what you expected to find?

Worksheet: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RI3j6GM_soUpbjI64iA8EaV2Tbj34FvANRstJqNd0I0/edit?usp=sharing

*Additional background for parents:

• After 3 hours your child should find bubbles forming on the leaf. The bubbling is due to the fact that photosynthesis has occurred and oxygen is released as a product of the reaction. The oxygen is leaving the leaf as a gas and hence the bubbles are representing the oxygen.
• The leaf can still undergo photosynthesis because the chloroplast is still absorbing the sunlight since it’s in a clear glass bowl in a sunny room.
• In the plant cells, there is a structure called chloroplast which contains chlorophyll which absorbs the energy from the sun. This energy is stored as ATP. The sugars and other compounds that plants use is made from utilizing ATP.