Rocket races Raven to the end of the block and flops on the grass, panting. "I am out of energy," he groans.
Raven hands him an apple from her backpack. "Here. Refuel."
He takes a big crunchy bite. "Where does the energy in an apple even come from?" he asks.
Nova hovers above them and points one wing at the sky. "Would you like a hint?" she asks. "Think about what shines on the tree all day. Just never look straight at it."
Rocket shades his eyes and looks at the apple tree instead. "The Sun?" he says. "My apple is full of sunshine?"
You need energy to run, grow and stay warm. You get that energy from food.
But the energy in food did not start in the food. It started as energy from the Sun.
Plants capture sunlight when they make their food. That energy gets stored in the plant.
When you eat the plant, you get some of that stored energy.
Light from the Sun takes about eight minutes to reach Earth.
A leaf catches it. The apple tree uses it to build sugar. Then the sugar ends up in an apple, and in you.
| Statement | True or false? |
|---|---|
| Food gives your body energy. | ? |
| The energy in food was once energy from the Sun. | ? |
| Plants get their energy from eating soil. | ? |
Energy from the Sun travels to Earth as light.
A plant captures some of it and stores it in the food it makes.
When you eat part of the plant, some of that stored energy becomes yours.
Nice work tracing energy back to its start. Tomorrow we will see what food does inside animals.