Adaptations of Plants for Photosynthesis

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Adaptations of plants for photosynthesis Overall Equation for Photosynthesis 6CO2 + 6H2O C6H12O6 + 6O2 Carbon Dioxide + Water Glucose + oxygen All plants are adapted in many ways to gain the best results from photosynthesis and to gain as many products as possible. Some plants are adapted to photosynthesise in hot and dry climates and some plants are adapted to photosynthesise in cold climates and because of this all plants are very different. One of the biggest factors that affect the rate of photosynthesis is surface area: volume ratio. If a plant as a large surface area: Volume ratios then it will photosynthesis more effectively as more sunlight is being absorbed. The surface area: volume ratio is large due to the leaves being broad and flat in most cases. For plants in extreme climates you will find that the leaves will be small and roughly circular giving them a smaller surface are: volume ratio so they do not lose too much water, these are called xerophytes. Another feature of plants that helps the photosynthesis to be efficient is the fact that the leaves are arranged in a way that minimises overlapping and this avoids the shadowing of one leaf by another so they can all get the same amount of sunlight. Plant leaves are thin and long and this creates a short diffusion pathway for the carbon dioxide to diffuse in and for the oxygen to diffuse out. It is also because most light is absorbed in the first few millimetres of the leaf so if think it can be absorbed as much as possible. As well as this the leaf has a thin waxy cuticle layer on either side of the leaf. This waxy layer is transparent and it has a layer of epidermis cell underneath it that lets
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