Environmental Literacy Project Michigan State University Lesson 2.3: Materials Plants Are Made Of

Large Scale: Farm field Benchmark Scale Power of Ten Decimal Style Large scale Larger Larger 100,000 10,000 1,000 Macroscopic meter Microscopic Atomic- molecular Smaller Smaller Scale: 10 3 meters = 1000 metersScale: 10 2 meters = 100 metersScale: 10 1 meters = 10 metersScale: 10 0 meters = 1 metersScale: meters = 0.1 metersScale: meters = 0.01 metersScale: meters = meters Scale: meters = metersScale: meters = meters Scale: meters = metersScale: meters = meters Scale: meters = metersScale: meters = meters Glucose Starch

What are plants made of? We can find out what materials plants made of by reading nutrition labels for plant foods. We will use labels with a serving size of 100 g. This means that 1 g = 1% of the materials in the food

What are plants made of? CARBOHYDRATES glucose starch fiber What atoms are carbohydrates made of?

An Example of a Plant Root: Carrots Total carbohydrate = starch + sugar + fiber (such as cellulose) How much starch is in 100 grams of carrots?

What are plants made of? FATS Fat molecule 1 glycerol3 fatty acids What atoms are fats made of?

Fat in Peanuts (Plant Seeds) How much fat is in 100 grams of peanuts?

What are plants made of? PROTEIN What atoms are proteins made of? Two of the Amino Acids

Protein in Carrots How much protein is in 100 grams of carrots?

Organic Molecules in Plants FATS GLUCOSE STARCH PROTEINS CARBOHYDRATES: What atoms are organic molecules in plants made of?

Minerals in Plants Plants also contain minerals that are used for plant functions. These minerals have different kinds of atoms, including: Nitrogen Phosphorous Calcium Sodium

Other Molecules in Plants Vitamins, minerals, and cholesterol make up less than 1% of plants (less than 1 gram out of 100 grams).

Water in Plants Besides organic materials or biomass (fats, proteins, and carbohydrates) plants are made up mostly of water. About how much water is in 100 grams of carrots?

How Much Water Is in Carrots? Organic materials in carrots Protein: 1% (1 g out of 100 g) Carbohydrates: 10% Fat: 0% Cholesterol and vitamins: less than 1% Inorganic materials in carrots Minerals (sodium, iron): less than 1% What’s left? WATER: about 89%

Chemical Energy in a Plant Root: Carrots Organic molecules in plants have chemical energy in their high- energy bonds (C-C and C- H). Calories measure how much usable energy is stored in the organic molecules of a plant.

Where are atoms moving from? Carbon dioxide in the air enters plants through their leaves Water in the soil enters plants through their roots Minerals enter plants dissolved in water through their roots Plant Growth: The Movement Question

Plant Growth: The Carbon and Energy Questions Carbon: Where do the atoms that make up carbohydrates, fats, and proteins come from? Carbon Oxygen Hydrogen Nitrogen Energy: Where does the chemical energy in the high-energy (C-C and C-H) bonds of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins come from?

Plant Growth: The Carbon and Energy Questions Carbon: What materials do the atoms that make up carbohydrates, fats, and proteins come from? Carbon: from CO 2 to glucose made in photosynthesis Oxygen: from CO 2 to glucose made in photosynthesis Hydrogen: from H 2 O to glucose made in photosynthesis Nitrogen: from soil minerals Energy: Where does the chemical energy in the high- energy (C-C and C-H) bonds of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins come from? From light to C-C and C-H bonds in glucose made in photosynthesis