What do the following pictures have in common?

You might have answered that all of them are green. Why are they green? They are all green because of the green pigment called chlorophyll. Have you ever gotten a green grass stain on your pants? That grass stain is the chlorophyll from the grass.

Watch the following video to see chlorophyll being removed from leaves.

What is chlorophyll? The chemical formula and molecular model of chlorophyll are shown below.

As you can see from the model above, there are many carbon atoms bonded to hydrogen atoms. This bonding of carbon to hydrogen means that chlorophyll is an organic molecule. (To learn more about organic molecules, review the resource titled, “Organic Compounds.”)

Chlorophyll is vital for photosynthesis, which allows plants to absorb energy from light. Chlorophyll is found in a special cell organelle called the chloroplasts.

Chloroplasts are found in plants, algae, some bacteria, and some other unicellular organisms. These organisms have the ability to convert radiant energy from the sun into chemical energy. These organisms are referred to as producers or autotrophs. The Greek root troph means to feed or grow, and the root auto means self. Autotrophs are organisms that are able to produce their own food.

During photosynthesis, energy from the sun is used to convert carbon dioxide and water into high-energy sugars and oxygen. In plants, most photosynthesis takes place in the leaves.

Let’s look at the parts of the leaf. Scroll over the image to learn more about the leaf's structure.