Question

Do plants photosynthesize at night?

Answer 1

Hint: The plants are the autotrophs. They can prepare their own food by the process of photosynthesis. In photosynthesis, the plants absorb the sunlight and convert it into food.

Complete answer:
Photosynthesis is the process by which green plants prepare their own food in the presence of sunlight and chlorophyll. They produce glucose and oxygen. Carbon dioxide is one of the important reactants of photosynthesis which is exchanged through stomata. The plants release oxygen after utilising it for respiration.

Sunlight is the major limiting factor for photosynthesis. In the presence of sunlight, transpiration takes place due to which the guard cells are open. The gaseous exchange takes place through the stomata whose opening and closing is regulated by the guard cells. This happens during the daytime. So, we can say that photosynthesis occurs mostly during the day as it requires sunlight.

In the case of desert plants, photosynthesis takes place at night. They store the carbon dioxide and perform photosynthesis the next day so that the guard cells remain close and the transpiration can be checked. These types of plants are called CAM plants or the xerophytes.

So we can conclude that photosynthesis mostly occurs during the daytime but in the case of xerophytes, it takes place at night so as to check photosynthesis.

Note: Chlorophyll is the green pigment essential for performing photosynthesis and is present in the leaves. The plants which lack chlorophyll cannot prepare their own food. Xerophytes are adapted for photosynthesis at night so that they can prevent water loss due to transpiration.