Hey everyone,
I was wondering if anyone could explain to me like I’m five why leaves change color in the fall. I know it has something to do with the temperature and the amount of sunlight, but I’m not sure how that makes the leaves turn red, yellow, and orange.
Thanks in advance for any explanations!
In: 11
Leaves are green because there’s a chemical called chlorophyll in them that makes them green. Chlorophyll is important because it absorbs sunlight which the plant uses (photosynthesis: light + water + carbon dioxide = sugar).
In the fall, the amount of light starts to go down and the tree is not making a lots of food, so it starts to shutdown. It stops making chlorophyll first, and the green color fades away. What you see is whatever’s left over (and that varies by the variety of tree). There are chemicals called carotenoids that are yellow and orange, and others called anthocyanins which are deep red. You begin to see the color from those chemicals in the leaves now that the green is gone…. until the temperature drops and the leaves start to die off, at which point the leaves begin to dry up the other colors also fade.
Latest Answers