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Photosynthesis in New Zealand Ecosystems

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Photosynthesis in New Zealand Ecosystems

Explore how plants make food using light. Read the field notes, then solve the questions. Use complete sentences where needed.

Field notes: a forest at work

In a New Zealand forest, a green beech leaf takes in carbon dioxide from the air through tiny openings. Its roots absorb water from the soil. Chlorophyll, the green pigment in the leaf, captures energy from sunlight. Inside chloroplasts, the plant uses this energy to turn carbon dioxide and water into glucose, a sugar it can use for energy and growth. Oxygen is released into the air. This process is called photosynthesis. Word equation: carbon dioxide + water —(light energy, chlorophyll)→ glucose + oxygen

Investigate the leaf

Read each situation carefully. Use the field notes to support your answers.

1.A young mānuka plant grows under a thick forest canopy and receives little sunlight. Which change is most likely compared with a similar plant growing in a bright clearing?

It will make less glucose because it has less light energy.
It will make more glucose because the shade keeps it cool.
It will release carbon dioxide as a product of photosynthesis.
It will no longer need water.

2.Which green pigment captures light energy for photosynthesis?

3.Sort each substance as an input or an output of photosynthesis: carbon dioxide, water, glucose, oxygen.

Carbon dioxide
Water
Glucose
Oxygen

Input
Output
Output
Input

4.Complete the word equation: carbon dioxide + —(light energy)→ + oxygen.

5.A storm strips many leaves from a tree. Explain how losing leaves can affect the tree’s photosynthesis and growth.

6.Using the field notes, name the two materials that enter the leaf and the two products that leave or are made by the leaf during photosynthesis.

7.True or false: A plant gets the energy for photosynthesis from glucose.

TrueFalse

8.A class compares two identical seedlings for a week. One gets plenty of light and the other is kept in dim light. Name one factor they should keep the same to make the comparison fair, and explain why.

9.Explain one way photosynthesis connects a forest plant to animals living in that ecosystem.

10.A student says, “Plants take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide during photosynthesis.” Correct the statement using the field notes.