Why Leaves Change Color
Written by Studio AM.
Your result
- Words per minute
- Score
- Pace
Words per minute mean something only with the score beside them. They describe this passage on this read. With fewer than 3 right, try the next slower pace.
Choose a pace and select Start. The passage is paced and timed, then the questions check what you understood. How pace mode works
Reading time 0:00
In summer, many leaves are green. The green comes from chlorophyll. This substance helps a leaf use light to make food. Yellow and orange pigments are also present, but the green often hides them.
In autumn, shorter days and cooler weather bring changes in many trees. Leaves make less chlorophyll, and the chlorophyll already there breaks down. As the green fades, yellow and orange become easier to see. Some trees, including many maples, also produce red pigments at this time.
Another change happens where a leaf joins its branch. A layer of cells weakens the connection. The tree also seals the place where the leaf will separate. The leaf can then fall with a breeze or under its own weight.
Trees that lose their leaves this way spend winter without them. When conditions improve in spring, new leaves grow. Not all trees follow this pattern; some keep green leaves through winter.
The passage is hidden while you answer. It comes back with your result.
Questions
Choose an answer. The explanation appears after you answer.
-
Question 1 of 4
What is the main point of the passage?
The answer is B: Autumn colors appear mostly because the green that hid them fades away.
Yellow and orange pigments are often hidden by chlorophyll. When the green fades, those colours become more visible. Some trees also make red pigments.
-
Question 2 of 4
According to the passage, what does chlorophyll do for the tree?
The answer is D: It helps the tree make food from sunlight.
Chlorophyll helps a leaf use light to make food. It does not seal the connection to the branch.
-
Question 3 of 4
Why can an autumn leaf fall on a day with little wind?
The answer is A: Its connection to the branch has weakened.
The layer of cells weakens the join. The leaf may then fall under its own weight, without a strong wind.
-
Question 4 of 4
In this passage, "fades" means
The answer is C: slowly becomes weaker and disappears
As chlorophyll breaks down, the green becomes less visible. Here, 'fades' means gradually loses strength.
Score: none answered yet.