Scientific experiment in Year 8

Everyone knows that plants use CO2 from the atmosphere to produce organic matter through photosynthesis. But where does it enter the plant?

To find out, you have to observe the underside of a leaf with a magnification of at least 100 times. It is impossible to directly observe the leaf under a microscope because it is too thick. The Year 8 students therefore used transparent varnish to “print” the cells under the sheet.

This technique allowed them to discover that leaves contain thousands of small cellular structures called “stomata” capable of opening to absorb CO2 and closing to prevent water loss when it is too hot.