Science - Plant Nutrition

• Plants make their own food
• Photosynthesis = chemical process - takes place in every green plant
• Photosynthesis produces food - in form of glucose
• Plant use the glucose to increase its biomass (grow)
• Photosyntheis makes food using energy from sunlight
• Photosynthesis happens in all green bits of plant (mainly leaves)
• Plants then use aerobic respiration to get energy for the food they've made.

Photosynthesis Equation:

Carbon dioxide + Water ----------------------------> Glucose + Oxygen
         Sunlight + Chlorophyll 

• Aerobic Respiration equation same but other way round!

Four Things Are Needed For Photosynthesis:

1. Sunlight

2. Chlorophyll - green stuff which changes CO2 and H20 into glocose and O2

3. Water - travels from roots

4. Carbon Dioxide - diffuses in through the holes in leaf (stomatal pores)

EXTRA:

oxygen = diffuses out through little holes (stomatal pores)

glucose = stored as starch or taken in the veins to other bits of plant

Four Factors Affect Photosynthesis:

1. Light - more light - faster the rate of photsynthesis

2. Water - too little water - photosynthesis slow down

3. Temperature - optimum (best level) temperature is 30*C - photosynthesis works fine up to 40*C, but over 40*C - it slows down a lot

4. Carbon Dioxide Levels - if paraffin (liquid) burnt in greenhous - co2 levels increase - so does rate of photsynthesis - which increases growth.