Unit 3: How Plants Work

How Plants Work

Plants are made up of roots, stems, and leaves, and most produce flowers, fruit, and seeds. Plants comprise a large part of the ecosystem. In this section, we will learn how plants are built, how they reproduce, how they spread their seeds, and how they are organized into groups based on similarity of their structures.

What makes plants special is that they produce their own food. Leaves capture the sunlight in order to do this. They contain a pigment called chlorophyll, which makes the leaves green. Using carbon dioxide, water, nutrients, and energy from sunlight, the chlorophyll makes the food that the plant needs. This process is called photosynthesis. During this process, plants release oxygen into the air. People and animals need oxygen to breathe.