Why do plants grow toward the light?
Plants grow toward light because they use sunlight to make their food.
Pip’s answer
- Plants grow toward light because they use sunlight to make their food.
- The shady side of the stem grows longer, so the plant bends to the light.
- If you move the light, the plant slowly bends a new way to find it.
- Wow-ee, plants can follow the light without any eyes at all!
Try it together
Can you lean slowly toward the window, like a plant?
For grown-ups
Plants bend toward light through phototropism. A hormone called auxin collects on the shaded side of the stem, making those cells grow longer, so the stem curves toward the light. This helps plants catch the most sunlight for photosynthesis.
Ask your child: Shall we turn a plant around on the windowsill and watch what it does?
More questions kids ask
- 🌱Why do plants need sunshine?
- 🌻Why do sunflowers face the sun?
- 🌱Why do seeds grow?
- 🍂Why do leaves change color?
- 🍎Why do apples grow on trees?
- 🌵Why do cactuses have spikes?
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