Miwa W. answered • 01/06/20
Passionate Biology and Writing Tutor
Hi Ethan,
Think about what the main function of a leaf is. Any ideas? The plant wants to grow big and tall, just like a person. And just like a person, a plant needs food in order to do this!
Instead of consuming a delicious burger or burrito, a plant gets its food by photosynthesis - a process in which the plant converts light energy (usually from the sun) into usable energy in the form of food. It makes it's own burgers!
The structure of the leaf, then, is flat with a high surface area, so that the leaf can absorb as much sunlight as possible to use in photosynthesis. This high surface area also allows the leaf to exchange gases between itself and the environment (think: people often tout trees as good for the environment because the take in carbon dioxide and put out oxygen). This allows for efficient photosynthesis as well as well as cooling of the plant with the evaporation of water into the atmosphere - just like how you sweat to help cool you down, water evaporates from the leaf to cool it down! And, again, a large surface area of the leaf means a cooler plant.
Hope this helps! Plants are pretty cool :)
Ethan B.
i am looking for how leaf stuctures adapt to the functions of the leafs01/07/20
Ethan B.
oh and 9th grade honnors bio01/07/20
Miwa W.
Okay, I'll give it another shot. More along the lines of how maple leaves (big, flat) differ from coniferous leaves (needle-like, waxy)? Maple leaves are adapted to take in a lot of sunlight and can afford to lose water to cool down as I explained in my original answer. They are situated in a nice climate - not too harsh of a winter or summer; they get a good amount of sunlight and water all throughout the year. Needle-like, waxy leaves, on the other hand (like pines) are often on plants that have adapted to higher latitudes, which means environments that have longer winters - periods of cold and little sun. These trees are often called "evergreens" because their leaves don't change color or get lost with the seasons. Instead, they've adapted to stay on the tree and thus are able to maximize the amount of photosynthesis they can undergo throughout the year. Additionally, the waxy nature of the leave helps the plant maintain moisture as they might not get so much water during the long winter. Another example of leaf adaptation is that of desert plants. Desert plants face a harsh environment of little rain, so many of their adaptions revolve around maintaining as much moisture as possible. Similar to those pine needles, many desert leaves are waxy to prevent water loss in the desert. The leaves on desert plants are also smaller than those of deciduous plants (like the maple leaf) to minimize surface area for loss of water. Desert plants can have leaves with smaller surface area because they get near consistent sun exposure, so they don't have to worry about maximizing their photosynthesis with a large surface area. Lastly, desert leaves have smaller and fewer stomata, which are the holes in the plants that water evaporates from. Again, this minimizes the amount of water the escapes from the plant.01/07/20
Stan F.
01/08/20
Miwa W.
What type of answer are you looking for? And what level/age is the question geared towards?01/07/20