Today in class we learned all about how and why the leaves on the trees change color in the fall.
So this is how and why: The leaves on trees change colors because when the climate is changing the trees stop the photothinthysis while slowing down the chloropyll till eventually different colors come out of the leaves depending on what kind of pigments the leaves have in them already. For example,if they have carotene and xanthophyll in them they turn out yellow or orange. For the red leaves they have a pigment called anthocyanins which actually is not in the leaves until chlorophyll begins breaking down.Also the anthocyanins in the leaves are just protecting the leaves from sun damage and the cold, cold weather buying the tree more time to collect nutrients from its leaves.
So this is how and why: The leaves on trees change colors because when the climate is changing the trees stop the photothinthysis while slowing down the chloropyll till eventually different colors come out of the leaves depending on what kind of pigments the leaves have in them already. For example,if they have carotene and xanthophyll in them they turn out yellow or orange. For the red leaves they have a pigment called anthocyanins which actually is not in the leaves until chlorophyll begins breaking down.Also the anthocyanins in the leaves are just protecting the leaves from sun damage and the cold, cold weather buying the tree more time to collect nutrients from its leaves.
RSS Feed
