Why Do the Leaves Turn in Autumn?

"Momma, why do the leaves change colors in the fall?"

This has been an oft-asked question during the past couple of weeks by four-year-old Trusten.  So, I decided to pull out some stapled-together papers I've kept for four years with the article from Science Made Simple.  When Jaden William was the same age, he also asked this same question.  When I finished reading it, and we discussed it, we went on our nature walk to collect leaves--both green and changed--for the accompanying science experiment.

During Our Walk...

Right at the beginning of our walk, Trusten and Liv hugged each other.  They do that often.  Afterward, Liv found herself a Juniper branch, as she's recently become very fond of those branches; and Trusten found some sort of dry pod on a plant and asked me about it.  I don't, as of yet, know what it is that he'd found.  I didn't see the plant off which he picked it, either.

Here's an updated shot of the northern border of our property:

We got green leaves from an oak and a cherry. 

Jade picking cherry leaves to add to the collection bag

Whereas Liv normally picks up rocks, leaves, and other treasures on our walks, she usually quickly discards them...not so with the Juniper branch.  She loves those things!  She drug that branch nearly the whole walk from the house, until I picked her up to carry her for awhile, as she was tagging behind.  When we went back by the branch, though, she picked it back up and carried it halfway back to the house.

Some lovely pictures:

Liv likes to be picked up to trees or anything else high.  She'll tell one of us, "Jump real high" to let us know she wants to be picked up so she can reach something.  I decided to include her in the leaf harvesting.

On our way back to the house we saw a different sort of caterpillar.  I don't think I've seen this particular kind before.  I've not made the time to id it yet.

The Experiment....

Our supplies: Jars, bag of leaves, isopropyl alcohol, paper plate, and knife

Trusten chopping leaves as Liv watches

After the boys chopped the leaves, Jaden put them in jars, and I covered them with alcohol and put them in some shallow hot water.  I used the bathtub.

Red-leafed oak, orange-leafed oak, yellow-leafed oak, green-leafed oak, and green-leafed cherry

They had to be swirled, and the hot water changed:

Then I dipped strips of coffee filters--labeled--into the alcohol in each jar and then taped the dry end to the outside of the jars:

The two leaves that still were chlorophyll-filled (green) leaked out the most color, which demonstrated the teaching in the lesson that trees took the chlorophyll to store during the winter, and the various other colors were pigments already in the leaves (like carotene in orange leaves).

I took the dipped ends and placed them on the outside

I'd forgotten about this project so had not mentioned it in my last blog post.  The other things are yet to come.

Until next time...