ShmoopTube

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[Dino and Coop singing]

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Have you ever been in your kitchen preparing a delicious afternoon snack... [Girl getting nachos out the microwave]

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Only to have your siblings appear out of nowhere, like vultures awaiting their next meal. [Girl looking angry]

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Ugh…they're called nachos for a reason.

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Because they're nacho snack!

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Anyway.

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This is most certainly an example of others benefiting from your hard work. [Her little sister cries]

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But you shouldn't be too mad at your siblings.

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Because after all, you benefit from the hard work of others all the time.

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And no, we're not talking about your mom and all of her cooking. [Girl eating her dinner]

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Though…that's true too.

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When this video is over, you should probably go thank her. [Mom smiles]

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No, what we're actually talking about is how you benefit from the hard work of plants.

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Yep.

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Plants.

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But when plants work hard to make their own food through the process of photosynthesis, [Light shining onto a tree]

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we humans benefit as well.

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The most obvious way we benefit from this process is that photosynthesis makes oxygen

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that we then breathe.

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And yeah, breathing is pretty important, but that's not what we're talking about today. [Girl deep breathing, then looks surprised]

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So how else might we benefit?

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Well, let's take a look at this plant.

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Pretty cute, huh?

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But not super useful to us, is it? [Tiny plant in the ground]

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Well, hold onto your hats!

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…and if you're not wearing a hat, go put on a hat!

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Hats are cool!

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Because here comes the sun, doo doo doo doo, kicking off the super-sweet [The sun in the sky]

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process of photosynthesis.

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And six weeks later...

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Well look what we have here.

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Not so tiny anymore, huh?

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In fact, that plant is looking practically all grown up. [Mustache appears on the plant]

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But is it useful to us yet?

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Ehhh…not so much.

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Let's check back in another six weeks.

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And through a little movie magic… [Clock ticking]

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Would you look at that?

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It's been three months!

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Time for the big reveal.

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Ta-da!

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Now that's what we like to see. [Scary looking pumpkin]

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The photosynthesis process produces food for the plant, which in turn allows the plant [Coop pointing at a blackboard]

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to grow.

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And when plants grow big, they often produce things that we humans can benefit from.

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Do you like fruit and veggies? [Picture of fruit and veg]

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Well, then go high five a plant and say thanks! [Kid squishes a tomato]

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Or…actually, don't.

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They're pretty fragile.

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Send them a card, or something.

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And plants aren't just useful for the occasional juicy snack either.

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Large portions of the human population depend on important crops to live, like rice and corn. [People farming]

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And that's why it's important to make sure that our little plant buddies are growing

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up to their fullest potential.

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Plenty of people even study things like agricultural science to make sure that happens. [People in an agricultural science lab]

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They examine how things like temperature, water, and amount of sunlight can affect all

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rates of photosynthesis, and in turn, the amount of crops grown. [Guy up to his eyes in water]

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The growth of food is something we often take for granted – especially when we live in

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cities far away from any farmland.

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But if it weren't for the magic of photosynthesis, well, our diets would probably look a whole [Kid looks grossed out by a broccoli bar]

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lot less colorful.

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Now get to work writing that thank you card! [Thank you card appears]

Full Transcript