Why do leaves change color in the fall?
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What leaf colors would you like to find on a walk?
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Transcript
Have you seen green leaves turn yellow, orange, or red in the fall?
In summer, leaves use sunshine to help the tree make food. A green color in the leaves helps catch the light.
When fall brings shorter days, the tree starts getting ready for winter. It stops making as much green color in its leaves.
Then yellow and orange colors show up, and some leaves turn red. Soon the leaves let go and float down to the ground.
So that's why leaves change color in the fall. The green fades, and other colors can be seen!
For grown-ups: the science
Leaves change color when trees make less green color as fall days get shorter.
Leaves contain chlorophyll, the green pigment that captures light for photosynthesis. As day length decreases and temperatures cool, deciduous trees stop producing chlorophyll and break it down before leaves fall. Yellow and orange carotenoids become visible; some trees also make red anthocyanins when sugars remain in leaves under certain fall conditions.