DrenckhahnAS275
Sycamore - Great Barrington
Plantanus x acerfolia - London planetree
Cellulose – Studying the above sycamore leaf I find it highly interesting to think about just what that leaf is made up of, which leads me to cellulose. Cellulose is a natural polymer, or a long chain of molecules linked together by smaller glucose molecules and the main component or plant cell walls. Humans are unable to break down or digest cellulose, but animals such as cows, sheep, horses, goats and termites have gut microbes, or symbiotic bacteria in their intestinal tracts, allowing them to break cellulose down. The result of the broken down cellulose though gut microbes is the expulsion of methane gas into the atmosphere.
Photolysis – During photosynthesis plants turn energy from the sun into usable chemical energy used for plant growth and function. In the chloroplast, when a photon of a certain length hits a chlorophyll molecule, the chlorophyll molecule becomes excited and oxidizes, or loses an electron. This electron is replaced by an electron from a water molecule in the thylakoid space, which is an aqueous space. As a result the water molecule breaks apart and exits the cell through the stomata, releasing oxygen into the atmosphere.
Glucose – As autotrophs, plants have the ability to create their own food rather than absorb it from other sources. Glucose is a molecule that living organisms use to gain energy. ATP, the product of photosynthesis is combined with carbon dioxide to create glucose. Glucose is then used combined with nutrients and minerals taken up through the plants roots to create leaves, seeds, flowers and other important parts of the plant including cellulose. Glucose may be stored and used in cold or dry months if the plant experiences problems producing new glucose.
Sycamore - Great Barrington
Plantanus x acerfolia - London planetree
Cellulose – Studying the above sycamore leaf I find it highly interesting to think about just what that leaf is made up of, which leads me to cellulose. Cellulose is a natural polymer, or a long chain of molecules linked together by smaller glucose molecules and the main component or plant cell walls. Humans are unable to break down or digest cellulose, but animals such as cows, sheep, horses, goats and termites have gut microbes, or symbiotic bacteria in their intestinal tracts, allowing them to break cellulose down. The result of the broken down cellulose though gut microbes is the expulsion of methane gas into the atmosphere.
Photolysis – During photosynthesis plants turn energy from the sun into usable chemical energy used for plant growth and function. In the chloroplast, when a photon of a certain length hits a chlorophyll molecule, the chlorophyll molecule becomes excited and oxidizes, or loses an electron. This electron is replaced by an electron from a water molecule in the thylakoid space, which is an aqueous space. As a result the water molecule breaks apart and exits the cell through the stomata, releasing oxygen into the atmosphere.
Glucose – As autotrophs, plants have the ability to create their own food rather than absorb it from other sources. Glucose is a molecule that living organisms use to gain energy. ATP, the product of photosynthesis is combined with carbon dioxide to create glucose. Glucose is then used combined with nutrients and minerals taken up through the plants roots to create leaves, seeds, flowers and other important parts of the plant including cellulose. Glucose may be stored and used in cold or dry months if the plant experiences problems producing new glucose.