Question

Let’s say that two plants need the same amount of energy and has the same leaf size. Plant No. 1 has green leaves and Plant No. 2 has blue leaves. Which plant needs the most leaves? Plant No. 1 or Plant No. 2.

Answer 1

Let me tell you two important things before answering the question-

1) For photosynthesis, red and blue light is highly efficient as they can energize the chlorphyll molecules better.

2) Next, the leaves of one color do not absorb the light of same wavelength. That means if a leaf is of green color, it will not absorb green colored light.

So, i think you must have figured out the answer.

As the two leaves need same amount of energy and have the same size, the green colored leaves will be very efficient in absorbing blue colored light. Hence, photosynthesis will be in higher rate here. On the other hand, the blue colored leaves will not be able to absorb the blue light, it will not reflect it. So, photosynthesis will not be occuring here as in green leaves. Hence, the plant having blue leaves will need to have more of blue colored leaves.

Hope it helps, Good luck

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