What leaves do
Leaves don’t seem to do anything at all. But if you could become tiny
enough to peek inside a leaf—you would have a surprise!
Sunlight comes into a leaf through the leaf’s skin, which is clear like
glass. Beneath the skin are millions of tiny “bags” called cells. These
cells are like little balloons filled with water and living jelly.
Inside the cells are small green packages called chloroplasts. The
chloroplasts are green-colored because they are filled with a green
stuff called chlorophyll. The chlorophyll catches some of the sunlight
that falls on a leaf.
While the green packages are catching sunlight, other things are
happening in the leaf. Air comes into the leaf through many tiny
openings. Water, moving up from the roots far below, flows through the
leaf. The air and water mix together and flow into the cells.
These cells are like little food factories. Here, the green chlorophyll
works away. Using sunlight for energy, it changes water and a gas from
the air (called carbon dioxide) into sugar. Some of this sugar is used
as food for the plant. Some of it is mixed with minerals from the ground
and is changed to other kinds of food.
So, all summer long, leaves are doing what leaves do best—making food.
cells and chloroplasts
A leaf is made up of tiny \’bags” called cells. Inside the cells are
green packages called chloroplasts, where food is made.
