Plants are living things right? That means they eat food? But have you ever seen them eating food…NO!! So then how do they eat?

Plants make and eat their food secretly and quietly. In fact you wouldn’t believe me if I tell you that each plant has hundreds of food factories to generate food. Yes!
Each leaf of the plant is like a silent factory that makes food. Here is how…

Leaves need three basic ingredients to make food : Water, Carbon dioxide and Sunlight. They get water from the ground through roots. Carbon dioxide is a gas that plants breathe in from the air like how humans breathe in oxygen from air.For Sunlight, all plant cells have a chemical called Chlorophyll that allows the plant to absorb light.

Now, with the help of sunlight, ‘a leaf factory’ turns water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and glucose(a kind of sugar). Plants breathe out the oxygen into the air and use glucose as their food. This glucose gives them energy and helps them grow while also repairing damaged parts of the plant.

The process by which leaves convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and sugar is called photosynthesis. Photo means ‘light’ and Synthesis means ‘to make’ so photosynthesis means “to make with light.”

Did you know that Chlorophyll is what gives leaves their green color. No chlorophyll, no green!!