Here's an interesting question that was asked during dinner with Mike and Isa last night: Where do trees get their body mass from?

If you answered water and carbon dioxide, you are correct. From Wikipedia, here is a generalized equation representing photosynthesis (where starch is the primary product of the reaction):

6 CO₂ + 6 H₂O + light energy → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6 O₂

Just think about it, the amount of wood that you see in a tree is the result of many years of pulling carbon dioxide from the air and water from the ground. So one way of looking at this the plant is made of air and water.

Here's another stimulating thought, fossil fuels like coal and oil come from plants that died millions of years ago. Furthermore, the energy that we humans use to do work comes from consumed food. Not surprisingly, all these energy cycles can be traced back one source: plants. Ultimately, plants harness sunlight to produce complex carbon-based products to store energy. If you really think about it, almost all energy that we know comes from sunligt.

2/18/2006 4:22:40 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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