Why Do the Leaves Change Color? Our video helps explain the answer!

Sharing Our Knowledge

 Part of the scientific process is sharing the knowledge you have gained. Together with Miss Holly we created a video to teach others about why certain leaves change color in the fall and the chemical that are responsible for that change. Here are some behind the scenes pics of the kids creating our video. 

Finding Answers

Through observing the changing leaves all around our beautiful campus and researching, we were able to learn a lot about why the trees change color in the fall: it has to do with photosynthesis, chlorophyll, xanthophyll, and carotene . Here's a website that really helped us understand this concept:

http://www.kidzone.ws/plants/autumn1.htm

Treeline Observation October 21

We observed the same treeline on October 21st and drew pictures of what we saw - a lot more color! We are learning that the maple trees are turning color the quickest and the oak trees keep their leaves the longest. 

The First to Change...

As we walked around campus, we saw some leaves turning red, especially these that were close to the ground. We are learning that the maple trees are changing color the earliest.  We also found a couple of trees that were sick; their leaves were changing more quickly than the healthy trees nearby. We also learned that pine trees have a special coating over their needles, so they will stay green all through the winter.

Observations and Research...

 Next, we made some observations and did research. We headed to our resident expert, Miss Holly, who helped us do some investigating on the internet. We learned all about chlorophyll and how the green color in the leaves starts to go away when the tree receives less sunlight, allowing the oranges, yellows, and reds to show through. Above is a photograph of the tree line above the soccer field on September 23rd. We observed mostly green, but some spots of red and orange peeking through. We each did a drawing of the tree line and will observe and draw again in about a week so we can compare drawings. 

Wondering and Hypothesizing....

At the beginning of the school year, we started to see signs of the changing seasons...fall was on its way! So we wondered - why do the leaves change color and which leaves would lose their green first? With our question in mind, we each made a hypothesis about which type of tree on campus would change color first.