Who doesn’t like food? Not only is it essential to our health and daily functioning (food gives us energy), but it’s delicious.Every living organism has it’s own way of eating, and most of us do it in a similar way. Us humans and every other animal, eat ( or more formally consume) other living things. For instance, you eat a steak to gain nutrients, and when that steak was a cow it ate grass and grains for nutrition. But where did the plant get its nutrients from? What do they eat?
The short answer to this, is they make it. Plants are able to obtain nutrients from their surroundings and convert them into an energy source that’s readily usable and universally enjoyed: sugar. I like to think of plants as food engineers; they create their own food, from nothing more than light, water and a few base chemicals. It’s this initial source of energy storage, that feeds the world and satisfies its energy requirements. If you’ve sat in a biology class odds are you’ve already heard of this as a fancier term: photosynthesis. But just how does it work?
The short answer to this, is they make it. Plants are able to obtain nutrients from their surroundings and convert them into an energy source that’s readily usable and universally enjoyed: sugar. I like to think of plants as food engineers; they create their own food, from nothing more than light, water and a few base chemicals. It’s this initial source of energy storage, that feeds the world and satisfies its energy requirements. If you’ve sat in a biology class odds are you’ve already heard of this as a fancier term: photosynthesis. But just how does it work?
Photosynthesis is the conversion of light energy (aka sunlight) into chemical energy(in this case sugar). Plants are able to take up water and carbon from their surrounding environment through their root systems and stomata (tiny pores in leaves that allow the plant to breathe). Sunlight is captured by special cells exclusive to plants that contain chlorophyll. This is what gives plants their lovely green hues, and also, why virtually all plants are green.
When light hits these cells, it allows the water and nutrients to combine and form glucose aka tasty sugar and oxygen. Since the plants are only interested in the tasty food they just made, it’s stored safely in the cell while the oxygen is exhaled by the plant as a by-product of this glorious process.
And now you know what plants eat- sugar- and more interestingly where they get it from. If you’re more interested in the technical process of photosynthesis (like the exact process on a cellular level or types of photosynthesis) there’s a great video by crash course that goes more in-depth on these matters (you can watch it here). If you by chance aren’t much for technicalities a/o aren’t beefing up for a test, I hope this short explanation has helped you understand why plants rock. There production of food feeds literally every other organism either directly or indirectly; not to mention they supply the oxygen we breath. But there’s one big question mark: how do plants keep making sugar? Wouldn’t they eventually run out of carbon to use? To answer that question, we’ll need to delve into the mysterious world of fungi and talk about one of my favorite topics next post: rot.
When light hits these cells, it allows the water and nutrients to combine and form glucose aka tasty sugar and oxygen. Since the plants are only interested in the tasty food they just made, it’s stored safely in the cell while the oxygen is exhaled by the plant as a by-product of this glorious process.
And now you know what plants eat- sugar- and more interestingly where they get it from. If you’re more interested in the technical process of photosynthesis (like the exact process on a cellular level or types of photosynthesis) there’s a great video by crash course that goes more in-depth on these matters (you can watch it here). If you by chance aren’t much for technicalities a/o aren’t beefing up for a test, I hope this short explanation has helped you understand why plants rock. There production of food feeds literally every other organism either directly or indirectly; not to mention they supply the oxygen we breath. But there’s one big question mark: how do plants keep making sugar? Wouldn’t they eventually run out of carbon to use? To answer that question, we’ll need to delve into the mysterious world of fungi and talk about one of my favorite topics next post: rot.