Why is the color of the leaves green?

Answer 1

Because the plant pigments absorb all other colour wavelengths but green colour wavelength is not absorbed hence emitted. Hence leaves are found in different shades of green depending on the wavelength.

Answer 2

Not all leaves are green. Look in the ocean for good examples. You will find brown and red leaves. Even on land many plants appear to be red. The main photosynthetic pigment is chlorophyll. Leaves that are red also contain chlorophyll, but the majority of the visible light absorbed is green and blue, so the leaves appear red. The same principle is true for most green leaves--chlorophyll absorbs red, green, and blue light. However, on a relative basis, it absorbs more red and blue light, so it appears green to humans. Chlorophyll in higher plants does not absorb strongly in the UV or IR parts of the spectrum. Chlorophyll used by bacteria has a strong absorbance peak in the IR. So plants are green, because one of the main chemicals in leaves is chlorophyll.

From another perspective, one might wonder why leaves use chlorophyll to absorb light? The answer to this is several fold.

1. Chlorophyll absorbs visible light. The energy of visible light does not destroy the chemical bonds of life (the bonds that hold the elements of life together). For example, water is H-O-H. Water has two O-H bonds. Glucose is composed of 6 carbons and a bunch of hydrogens and oxygens. There are 5 carbon bonds (C-C). Photons of visible light do not contain enough energy to break the most common bonds of life. On the other hand UV light can break C-C bonds (hence we have to protect ourselves with sunscreen so we don't get sunburn).

2. There are other photosynthetic pigments that absorb green light more than red and blue, some that absorb highly in the blue region (you get the picture, chemicals can absorb at all wavelengths), but plants that live on land all use chlorophyll "a" as the major pigment. There must be some reason for that. Why would plants use a pigment that absorbs more red and blue light than green light? As a reminder, chlorophyll also absorbs green light.

3. The answer to the last question is likely beyond the scope of the original question asked, but it is something for you to think about.

Answer 3

There are several kinds of chlorophyll known in eukaryotic plants: chlorophylls abcd, but a and b are the most commonly studied and emphasized. All 4 molecules are stlightly different shades of blue-green or green yellow or yellow green, and all vary in their unique concentrations and quantities in various plant species and plant parts, so when these shades are mixed by nature on a microscopic level (within chloroplasts, along with the accessory pigments xanthophyll and carotene), then the OVERALL "net" color reflected back into your eyes is some shade of green.
The shade & brightness of various shades of green also varies with the health of the plant, the nutrients it gets from the soil, the season, plant or leaf age, amount of rain, presence-absence of disease, sunlight, etc.

Chromatography of these various different plant pigments are a common expt in botany labs. Leaves (frequently spinach) are crushed and placed into a solvent to extract the pigment from the chloroplasts and cell sap. The plant pigment extract is them "painted" onto a cut pc of chromatography paper; then the tip of the painted paper is put into another solvent in a test tube and then the solvent in the test tube carries the various molecules of chlorophyll and xanthophyll and carotene thru the paper-solvent by diffusion (based on their varying molecular weights). The smaller pigment molecules move faster; large pigment molecules move slower. The end result is a multicolored strip of chromatography paper that has all the different colors of plant pigment separated. One can estimate the relative molecular wts from the order-sequence of the pigments on the chromatography paper. Fun and pretty, but the solvent fumes are potentially toxic and flammable, so be careful, use a fan, avoid flames and or vent the room. (One can also do the same thing with india ink to "prove" that india ink is not just black, but a combo of many colors (molecules) all mixed in the ink.) But the basic idea is still the same, that our eyes are often not able to see the intricate detail of color microscopically, that when we see "just" ONE color, it definately can be a much more complex scenario when we look at things microscopically or with the help of some chemistry. Insects can see a lot more detail to the colors of leaves and petals than our human eyes can see.

BTW, the leaf extract (in a test tube) can also be put in front of a bright light for a few seconds and will show the chlorophyll FLUORESCENCE. This is when the chlorophyll molecules get EXCITED at the beginning of photosynthesis. This is seen by our eyes with the chlorophyll extract glowing a rusty blood red color momentarily. Very cool demonstration. The blood red color is not due to PIGMENTS per se, but is due to the momentary excited state of the pigments stimulated by the light.

Answer 4

Plants have chloroplasts, which contain chlorophyll, which reflect green, and use light at blue, red and infrared wavelengths. Because the chlorophyll absorbs more energy at the red and blue wavelengths, the color we see is the reflected green. Some plants which may be red or brown have pigmentation which reflects those respective colors. Chlorophyll is always green.

Answer 5

it is colored green because of the pigment responsible for photosynthesis which is chlorophyll.

not only chlorophyll is present in leaves, there are also some other pigments. you can notice that during fall/autumn. during that time, the length of daylight is shorter, so the plant slowly stop to produce chlorophyll due to the fact that is almost useless to produce that, and it also because the plant was preparing for the winter season

Answer 6

Because most leaves have the chemical called chlorophyll which is green in colour and is required in the glucose creating reaction along with sunlight.

Answer 7

Leaves need to be able to absorb sunlight to grow and get nutrients, and the part of a leaf that does that is chlorophyll. It's this that gives leaves their green colouring.

Answer 8

There is a cell on the leaves called chloropast which produces green color clorofil (just like pigment in our skin)

Answer 9

Because they contain a pigment called chlorophyll which gives it green colour.

Answer 10

Chlorophyll is a green photosynthetic pigment found in most plants.