# @science on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DDfa6P7hYuT
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/61248051-science-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/cc787d013f.jpg
- **Posted:** 2024-12-12T20:03:29.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Science 🧬 (@science) — https://gondola.cc/science

## Caption

🌱 Plants take up atmospheric carbon dioxide, but 1) why do they do this and 2) how do they do it?⁠
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1) Plants need carbon dioxide to carry out photosynthesis, which is their way of making their food from scratch. They do so by reactions involving carbon dioxide and water. This process needs to be powered by sunlight energy (chemistry of life at its finest!!). During photosynthesis, plants don’t only produce their food, but they also produce oxygen (the very oxygen that we breathe!).⁠
2) Because carbon dioxide is a gas, plants use tiny pores that open and close to let atmospheric carbon dioxide enter the plant. These pores are called stomata and are usually very abundantly located on the underside of the leaf. As a byproduct of photosynthesis, oxygen (another gas) is generated. Oxygen will exit the plant through the same pores (stomata) that the plant uses to take up carbon dioxide. In other words, stomata are the many “mouths” that plants use to “breathe” (do gas exchange).⁠
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Unavoidably, every time the stomata open, water vapor escapes the plant too (transpiration). As water evaporates from the leaves, it creates a negative pressure that pulls water (and dissolved minerals) up from the roots into the plant. This is the force that allows roots to “suck up” water and nutrients from the soil into the plant!!⁠
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Except for the stomata openings (which are on the underside of the leaf), the rest of the leaf is covered with a protective layer of epidermal cells that are coated with waxy materials. These epidermal cells are like tightly adjusted tiles and are incredibly beautiful under the microscope.⁠
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By the way, the trichome that you see at the end of the video (on the topside of the leaf) is a hair-like structure made of cells. Different types of trichomes can help plants protect themselves against insects, or they can help plants avoid excessive loss of water, etc…⁠
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📹️ courtesy of: @dr.bio4ever⁠
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#microscopy #microscope #physiology #leaf #carbondioxide #science #biology

## Stats

- **Views:** 146,019
- **Likes:** 9,264
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- **Comments:** 96

## Tags

microscopy, science, microscope, carbondioxide, leaf, biology, physiology

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