2.20 How are leaves adapted to photosynthesis?

1. The blade or lamina of the leaf have a Large surface area which helps collect light.
2. Thinness of the leaf allows fast diffusion of gases such as Carbon Dioxide and oxygen.
3. The Palisade cells which contain the chloroplasts. It is located in the upper section of the leaf which makes it easier and faster for the light to penetrate through the cuticle and get trapped into the palisade layer.
4. There are many chloroplasts which contain the chlorophyll in the palisade cells. The palisade layer is a large surface which allows more light to be absorbed into the chloroplasts.
5. The stomatal pores are located in the lower epidermes which makes it faster for the Carbon dioxide to access it. These pores are formed by guard cells which can open and close. They're mostly open during the day, allowing carbon dioxide to enter.
6. mysophyll layer contain many spaces which allow diffusion of carbon dioxide and the movement of water.
7. The presence of the vascular bundle, the vein which comes into the leaf. This helps deliver water through the tissue, xylem, into the leaf, which transports water up through the mesophyll spaces up to the palisade layer.
8. At the end of photosynthesis when sucrose (sugar) is formed, it is then dissolved to form 'sap' which also moves up through the phloem, which is the tissue on the other side of the vascular bundle. This process is called translocation.