The Changing Color of Leaves

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Priscilla Tijerina The Changing Colors of Leaves Chemistry 1311 M02 September 16, 2013 The Changing Color of Leaves People can feel the change of seasons, as well as seeing them. There are characteristics that can be identified in each season. For winter people notice the trees are left with few or no leaves. As spring comes along the trees start to grow leaves, and flowers start to blossom. For summer, the trees are bright green and temperatures become hot. Fall is known for the time the leaves start to change colors and fall. To the curious mind, people wonder why leaves change color in the autumn. The changing of color is a mechanism that helps trees survive the winter until spring comes again. Trees need food, just like any other living species. The difference is that trees make their own food by the process called photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process in which light energy is converted into chemical energy. Sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water are what is needed for plants to make their own food. The roots absorb the water and leaves from the plant absorb carbon dioxide. During the spring and summer the trees collect their ingredients, which then the chlorophyll turns them into the food they need to survive. (2) The trees are green, because of the abundance of chlorophyll provided by the sunlight. Chlorophyll is responsible for photosynthesis. When winter comes around the plants store nutrients in their roots leaving the plants to absorb the nutrients from the leaves (3). Chlorophyll is what makes the leaf green. Light is the main sources of producing so much chlorophyll that green overpowers the natural colors of the leaf. The summer days have long hours of daylight, which regulate chlorophyll. The changes of color start to occur when there are fewer hours of daylight and the temperature becomes cooler at night.
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