Chapter 6: Plant Nutrition
6.1 Types of Nutrition
All living organisms need to take different substances into their bodies.
Some are used for repairing and making new cells; others are used to
release energy. Taking in useful substance is called feeding or nutrition
Animals and fungi cannot make their own food. They feed on organic
substances that have originally made by plants. Some animals eat other
animals but all the substances passing one animal to another were first
made by plants
Plants make their own food. They use inorganic substances — carbon
dioxide, water, and nitrates — from the air and soil
Plants build these substances into complex materials, making all the
carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and vitamins that they need. Substances
made by living organisms are called organic
6.2 Photosynthesis
Green plants make the carbohydrate glucose from carbon dioxide and
water. At the same time, oxygen is produced
Glucose is made when we mix carbon dioxide and water together and also
the energy of sunlight must be given to produce glucose. This process is
called photosynthesis ('photo' means light, and 'synthesis' means
manufacture)
Chlorophyll
The sunlight has to be trapped and then used in the reaction to make
glucose. The green plants have a substance called chlorophyll which does
this. It is the green pigment in plants. It is kept inside the chloroplasts of
plant cells
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The energy in the light is absorbed by the chlorophyll when sunlight falls on
it. Later, the chlorophyll releases the energy. The released energy makes
carbon dioxide combine with water, with the help of enzymes inside the
chloroplast.
The photosynthesis equation
The full and balanced equation for photosynthesis
6.3 Leaves
Photosynthesis happens inside chloroplasts. In a typical plant, most
chloroplasts are in the cell in the leaves. A leaf is a factory for making
carbohydrates. Leaves are therefore specially adapted for photosynthesis
to take place efficiently and quickly as possible
Leaf structure
A leaf consists of a broad, flat part called the lamina, which is joined to the
rest of the plant by a leaf stalk or petiole. Running through the petiole are
vascular bundles, which then form the veins of the leaf. These contain
tubes which carry substances to and from the leaf
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A leaf is made up of many layers of cells. The top and bottom of the leaf
are covered with a layer of closely fitting cells called the epidermis. These
cells' function is to protect the inner layer of cells
The cells of the upper epidermis often secrete a waxy substance called a
cuticle. It helps to stop water from evaporating from the leaf
In the lower epidermis, there are small openings called stomata. Each
stoma is surrounded by a pair of guard cells. These cells do contain
chloroplast
The middle layer of the leaf are called mesophyll. These cells also contain
chloroplasts. The cells nearer to the top of the leaf are called the palisade
layer. The cells beneath them are rounder, arranged loosely, with large
spaces between them. They form the spongy layer
Each veins contain large and thick walled xylem vessels to carry water.
There are also small and thin walled phloem vessels for carrying sucrose
and other substance that the leaf has made
Leaf adaptations
Leaves are adapted to obtain carbon dioxide, water and sunlight
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Carbon dioxide
Leaves are very efficient at absorbing carbon dioxide from the air because
its availability is 0.04%
The leaf is held out in the air by the stem and the leaf stalk and its large
surface area helps leaves to absorb as much as possible
The cells which need carbon dioxide the most are the mesophyll cells
inside the leaf. The carbon dioxide gets into the leaf through the stomata
by diffusion. The carbon dioxide can diffuse to all cells in the leaf with the
help of the air spaces behind each stoma
Water
Water is obtained from the soil. It is absorbed by the root hairs and carried
up to the leaf by the xylem vessels. Then, it travels from the xylem vessels
to the mesophyll cells through osmosis
Sunlight
The position of the leaf and its large and flat surface helps leaves to obtain
as much sunlight as possible
The leaves of any tree are arranged in such a way that it gets as much
sunlight as possible. That is why trees that live in shady places often have
big leaves
The thinness of the leaf allows sunlight to penetrate to the mesophyll cells
which needs sunlight the most
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6.4 Uses of glucose
One of the first carbohydrates to be made in photosynthesis is glucose.
There are several ways that glucose can be used
Used for energy
All cells need energy which they obtain from glucose by the process of
respiration
Stored as starch
Glucose is a simple sugar. It is soluble in water and a reactive substance. If
not broken down, it might be dangerous.
Firstly, being reactive, it might get involved in unwanted chemical reactions.
Secondly, it would dissolve in the water in and around the plant cells and
might be lost from the cell
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Thirdly, it would increase the concentration of the solution in the cell when
dissolved which might prove to be dangerous
The glucose is therefore converted into starch and stored. Starch is a
polysaccharide, made of many glucose molecules joined together. Being
such a large molecule, it is not very reactive and not very soluble. As a
result, it is made into granules which can be easily stored inside the
chloroplasts
Used to make proteins and other organic substances
Glucose may be used to make other organic substances. The plant can use
glucose to make carbohydrates, sucrose, and cellulose as a starting point
Plant can also use sugars that they have made in photosynthesis to make
amino acids which can be built up into proteins. To do this, they need
nitrogen.
But it is completely useless to plants because it is very unreactive. Plants
have to be supplied nitrate ions from the soil which is more reactive. They
absorb nitrate ions from the soil through active transport
The nitrate ions combine with glucose to make amino acids. The amino
acids are then strung together to form protein molecules
Another substance that plant make is chlorophyll. They need nitrogen and
magnesium which they absorb from the soil
If plants don't get enough nitrogen from the soil, farmers often add extra
mineral ions to the soil for crops to grow
Changed to sucrose for transport
A molecule has to be small and soluble to be transported. Glucose satisfies
both of these conditions, however, it is reactive. It has to be converted to
sucrose, which is less reactive, to be transported
The sucrose may be later converted to glucose again to be broken down to
release energy or converted into starch and stored
6.5 Limiting factors
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If a plant is given plenty of sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water, the rate of
photosynthesis is not as high as it might be because plants do not have
unlimited supplies of material
Sunlight
In the dark, photosynthesis can't take place at all in plants. In the dim light,
plants can photosynthesis slowly. As the light intensity increases, the rate
of photosynthesis increases, until it comes to a point where the rate of
photosynthesis can not increase any more
The effect of light intensity on the rate of photosynthesis
In point A and B, the light is said to be a limiting factor which means that
light present in the environment is in such short supply that it restricts life
processes
In point B and C, light is not a limiting factor because there is enough light
for photosynthesis to take place
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide can also be a limiting factor. The more carbon dioxide a
plant is given, the faster the photosynthesis can happen up to a certain
point
Temperature
The chemical reactions of photosynthesis take place very slowly at low
temperatures. So, a plant can photosynthesize faster on a warm day
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Stomata
The carbon dioxide uses diffuses into the leaf through the stomata. If the
stomata are closed, which it does on very hot and sunny days to prevent
water evaporation, then photosynthesis slows down
Growing crops in glasshouses
In very hot and cold places, photosynthesis might not happen in plants due
to a certain lack of proper conditions. To prevent that, plants can be grown
in greenhouses where the conditions can be controlled and photosynthesis
can happen faster
6.6 Importance of photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is of importance to all living organisms. It is the basic
reaction which brings the energy of the sun to the ecosystem
Photosynthesis is also essential for maintaining a constant global level of
carbon dioxide and oxygen in the air. The oxygen given off by plants can be
used for respiration. Carbon dioxide produced by respiration can be used
for photosynthesis. It helps the levels of carbon dioxide and oxygen not to
rise too high
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