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Plants have an amazing
system for making
and transporting
food to all their
different parts.
How plants work
Are plants the only organism to use photosynthesis?
The living world
Photosynthesis
The green pigment
chlorophyll traps sunlight
in the leaves. The Sun’s
energy is then used
to change water and
carbon dioxide into sugar.
Tiny tubes called xylem vessels
carry water up the stem from
the roots to the leaves.
Veins carry water
around the leaf.
Some water evaporates through
tiny holes called stomata in the
surface of the leaf. This process
is called transpiration.
Food is moved from leaves
to roots and growing tips,
along a set of tubes called
phloem vessels.
The Sun’s energy
is trapped in the
leaves, and helps
make food.
A waste product of
photosynthesis is
oxygen, which animals
need to survive.
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Cross-section
through a
stem
Cross-section
through a
leaf vein
