|
Kids' Corner
Consider This Fun Fall Activity For Your Children
Autumn is officially here, and soon we'll be enjoying nature's seasonal show. Following is an experiment that shows how sunlight affects the changing appearance of the forest canopy.
HOW LIGHT AFFECTS THE COLOR OF LEAVES
From ScienceMadeSimple.com
Materials:
A tree with leaves that turn red in the fall
Aluminum foil or or heavy paper and masking tape
Activity:
Find a maple tree, flowering dogwood, sweet gum or other tree that you know will turn bright red or purple.
Find several leaves that receive bright sunlight, and cover part of them with foil or heavy paper and tape.
After the leaves have changed color, remove the covering and observe the different colors underneath. These are the colors that were in the leaf all summer. The bright reds and purples are only made in the fall, with exposure to light.
Science Notes:
Plants make their own food. They take water from the ground through their roots. They take a gas called carbon dioxide from the air. They turn water and carbon dioxide into food using sunlight and something called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is green. It gives leaves their green color.
Winter days are short and dry. Many plants stop making food in the fall. The chlorophyll goes away. Then we can see orange and yellow colors. These colors were in the leaves all summer, but the green covered them up. Some leaves turn red. This color is made in the fall, from food trapped in the leaves. Brown colors are also made in the fall. They come from wastes left in the leaves.
|
