Why do leaves change color in the fall?

Question

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

Answer 1

Trees remove chlorophyll from the leaves for winter storage elsewhere because it’s not that easy to make and shedding it along with leaves would be a waste of a scarce resource. Chlorophyll is the compound which plants use to extract energy from sunlight and coincidentally it is what makes leaves green.