Name ______________________________________Block ________ Date ____________________
Photosynthesis
When is food not food??
Some people think that the plant food they give to house and garden plants is food for the
plants. It isn’t!!
Plants make their own food – in the form of sugars – using water, carbon dioxide, and
sunlight. So what is the “food” that people add to plants? It’s fertilizer. Fertilizer is a
mixture of minerals, such as potassium, calcium, and phosphorus. It helps plants grow but
does not supply them with energy as food does. Farmers add fertilizer to soil to grow better
quality crops. People do the same to grow bigger and healthier plants at home.
Discussion Questions:
• What is fertilizer? __________________________________________________________________
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• What do people keep their house plants in? _____________________________________
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• What is the main difference between houseplants and a farmers crops?
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• Why do you think people may feed their houseplants more often that farmers
fertilize crops? ____________________________________________________________
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How do living things get energy from the sun?
Every living thing needs energy!!
• ALL ___________ need ___________________ to _____________________________ their
______________________, such as _______________________________ and _________________________
substances ___________________________ of the _____________.
• ________________ used by __________________________ comes from their
______________________________.
• Some ____________________ get their _________________ from the _________________.
• Some ___________________ get their _________________ from ___________________________
________________________.
Where does energy start?
The Sun as an Energy Source
___________________ from ___________________ is ____________________ during
_________________________________.
• ____________________________ comes from the Greek words
photos – means “_________________” and syntithenai – means
“___________________________”
Photosynthesis: ________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________.
** Nearly ______________________ things obtain _______________ either _______________ or
________________________ from the ____________________________________ that is captured during
_____________________________________**
Examples:
• Grass obtains energy DIRECTLY from sunlight because grass makes its own food
during photosynthesis.
Give your own example of something obtaining energy directly from sunlight.
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• Zebras eat grass for energy. A lion eats the zebra for energy. BOTH the zebra and
the lion get the sun’s energy INDIRECTLY from the sun.
Explain how the zebra and the lion get the suns energy indirectly.
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Producers and Consumers
Autotroph (Producer) : _________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________.
Heterotroph (Consumer): _____________________________________________________________.
 Most heterotrophs obtain food by eating other organisms.
Name ___________________________________________ Block _______ Date ___________________
Re-cap
1. An organism that makes its own food is a(n) ____________________________________
2. Why do living things need energy? ______________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
3. How do living organisms get energy directly from the sun (what is the
process called)? __________________________________________
4. Explain how living organisms get energy from the sun indirectly.
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5. Give an example of how energy from the sun gets into YOUR cells.
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What happens during photosynthesis?
**Remember – Plants make their own food!!**
HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?????
During _____________________________, plants and some other organisms ________________
__________________ from the ______________ and __________________________________________ to
convert (change) ______________________________ (CO2) and _____________________ (H2O)
into ____________________ and ___________________ .
Two stages of photosynthesis:
1. _______________________________________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________________________________________
Stage 1: Capturing the Sun’s Energy
• ___________________________________________________________ (in plants, this process
occurs mostly in the leaves)
How???????
Chloroplasts: _____________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Green color comes from pigments that absorb light.
Chlorophyll: ______________________________________________________________________________.
• _________________________________________________________ (converts this energy to a
form that is used in stage two).
• _______________________________________________________________________________________
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• _______________________________________________________________________________________
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