Why is the grass green?

Plants

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by Mya Kagan (whyzz writer) >> more about the author

Why is the grass green? Why isn’t it purple, instead? Or orange? What about multi-colored grass? That sounds like it would be a lot of fun. Is there any good reason why it needs to be green instead of polka-dotted??!

The reason grass and many other plants are green is because they contain an important chemical called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll appears green when we look at it because of the way the energies of light are reflected and absorbed by it. – Reds and blues are absorbed, while green is reflected! It’s because plants like grass are so full of chlorophyll that they appear green, too!

Grass and trees need chlorophyll to help them make food for themselves using only water, sunlight, and air, a process known as “photosynthesis.” If it weren’t for the chlorophyll, plants wouldn’t be able to make enough food for themselves, so the grass and trees are probably pretty happy being green!

Printing with chlorophyll!

This fun project allows you to actually see a plant’s chlorophyll for yourself while you make some pretty printed pictures!

First, go outside and gather up some green tree leaves from the ground or some loose blades of grass. Bring them inside and set them down at your work-station.

At your work-station, sandwich the leaves or grass in between a folded piece of paper. Hold the paper in place at your table with a weight or a little piece of tape.

Using the bottom side of a spoon, rub across your paper very firmly. – If you can’t press hard enough, ask a grown-up for some help. Make sure you rub the spoon across the entire shape of your leaves or grass before you’re done.

When you open up your folded “sandwich,“ you’ll find that you’ve transferred the chlorophyll from your plants right onto your paper or fabric! If you want, you can even add other drawings around your print!

Make more prints with other types of leaves or grass. Do they print different shades of green??