What Causes Plants to Be Green in Color?
Plants contain chlorophyll, which is an important part of photosynthesis, the process plants use to transform energy into food. The presence of chlorophyll is what causes plants to be green. The green color is what we see after the chlorophyll absorbs color and light energy from the sun. Does this Spark an idea?
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Chlorophyll
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Chlorophyll gets its name from the Greek word "chloros," meaning yellowish-green. It is the green pigment found in plants, which is a type of chelate. Chelates consist of a metal ion bonded to a large organic molecule. The larger molecule is composed of carbon and hydrogen, along with other elements like nitrogen and oxygen. Chlorophyll contains magnesium as its central metal ion. The magnesium is bonded to a porphyrin, or a group of organic compounds, which consists of four nitrogen atoms. Chlorophyll channels the sun's energy, turning it into chemical energy used by the plant to grow, through photosynthesis. Chlorophyll's intense color also makes it useful as a pigment and it is used as a dye in soaps and cosmetics.
Photosynthesis
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During photosynthesis energy absorbed by a plant's chlorophyll converts carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates and oxygen. Chlorophyll molecules act as antennae that collect sunlight and turn it into a form of energy the plant can use. In green plants this process is how the plant makes its food. Photosynthesis can only occur when both chlorophyll and light are present, but a plant's chlorophyll uses only a portion of the light that it has access to, the rest is reflected, converted into heat, or used for other purposes within the plant.
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Color Energy
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Colors are energy that is seen as light. Green foliage is the result of the remaining photons of light that plants do not absorb. These light photons manufacture sugars from carbon dioxide and water during photosynthesis. The unabsorbed light in the green part of the color spectrum is what you see when you look at your lawn or a green plant on your window sill.
Light Energy
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If a white light is shone on chlorophyll, its molecules absorb certain colors within the light. The light that is not absorbed is what you see when you look at a plant. Apples are red, for example, because the pigment in the skin absorbs blue light. Your eyes see the red light that is not absorbed. Sunlight contains primarily blue and red light, the colors chlorophyll molecules absorb. Little energy is wasted from the sun because the chlorophyll absorbs nearly all of it. The light that is left behind gives plants the green color you see.
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References
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