Plants, Photosynthesis, and Ecosystems
Plants and how they live
Plant parts and jobs
Plants have roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and sometimes fruits. Roots absorb water and minerals, stems support the plant and move materials, and leaves capture light for making food.
Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is the process by which plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to make sugar and oxygen.
How photosynthesis works
In green leaves, chlorophyll captures light energy. Plants use that energy to turn water and carbon dioxide into glucose. The simplified equation is .
What do plants use to make food in photosynthesis?
Plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to produce food.
Correct answer: Sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide
What gas do plants release during photosynthesis?
Oxygen is a product of photosynthesis.
Correct answer: Oxygen.
Ecosystems
Living things and their environment
An ecosystem includes living things and nonliving things interacting in one place. Examples of nonliving parts include sunlight, water, air, and soil. Organisms depend on each other for food and shelter.
Roles in an ecosystem
Producers
- Make their own food
- Usually plants and algae
Consumers
- Eat other organisms
- Animals are consumers
Which organisms are usually producers?
Plants make their own food, so they are producers.
Correct answer: Plants
What is an ecosystem?
Ecosystems include both living and nonliving components.
Correct answer: A community of living things interacting with nonliving parts of their environment.