Directions: Read all three problems below and the student responses. Answer the following questions:

1) Which student response is incorrect?

2) Explain, why it is incorrect.

3) Re-write the student's answer, making it correct. 

TN'T: Trees are enormous! 

Where do they get their food to grow and weigh so much?

Do trees eat? 

Photosynthesis Article:

Plants, phytoplankton, algae, and some bacteria perform a process called photosynthesis, which allows them to capture light energy from the sun and convert it into chemical energy. The word photo means light, and the word synthesis means to put together, so photosynthesis refers to putting together glucose using light energy. This process mainly takes place in the chloroplasts of plant cells and in similar light-absorbing structures in photosynthetic microorganisms. Photosynthesis is essential because it provides nearly all of the energy that enters food webs on Earth, including those found in oceans and freshwater ecosystems.

The overall chemical equation for photosynthesis is:
6CO₂ + 6H₂O + Sunlight → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂

In words, this equation reads: Carbon Dioxide + Water + Sunlight → glucose + oxygen. 

Light energy is required for photosynthesis to occur.  The reactants/inputs, carbon dioxide and water, are transformed into products/outputs, glucose and oxygen.

Photosynthesis is often described as the opposite of cellular respiration. In cellular respiration, organisms break down glucose in the presence of oxygen to release energy. The products of photosynthesis become the reactants of cellular respiration, creating a cycle that moves energy and matter through ecosystems. While photosynthesis stores energy in glucose, cellular respiration releases energy so cells can use it.

Once a plant or photosynthetic organism makes glucose, it can use it immediately for energy or convert and store it as starch. Starch acts like a long-term energy reserve that the plant can break down later during times when sunlight is limited, such as nighttime or winter. This ability to store and release energy helps plants survive changing environmental conditions.

Even though plants and phytoplankton perform photosynthesis, they also carry out cellular respiration just like animals and other organisms. These organisms must use cellular respiration to break down the glucose they make and convert it into usable energy for growth, repair, movement, and active transport. This means that photosynthesis and respiration occur in the same organism but in different structures and often at different times.

Photosynthesis also supports entire ecosystems because the glucose produced by plants and phytoplankton becomes food for other organisms. Herbivores consume plant material to obtain stored energy, and many aquatic organisms rely on phytoplankton as their main food source. Predators then gain energy by eating those herbivores. Through this flow of energy, the glucose created by photosynthesis powers life far beyond the organism that originally produced it.

TN'T: Based off what you have learned about photosynthesis, can a plant or tree grow without soil? What does a plant absolutely need to live?

From the video, we learned that trees (and all plants) in a way sort of do eat, even though they don't have a mouth. 

🔑Key Concept: Plants make their own food by taking in CARBON DIOXIDE 🌫️ and WATER 💧. Using energy from the SUN ☀️ they convert these two substances into GLUCOSE🍬 (their food) and OXYGEN. This process is called PHOTOSYNTHESIS. 

📚Vocabulary: