How trees work
A tree is a living sugar maker, with roots below and a leafy workshop above.

Picture in words: 1. Roots drink: Roots absorb water and dissolved minerals from the soil.
2. A trunk transports: Tiny tubes carry water upward. Other tissues move sugars to places that need them.
3. Leaves make food: Leaves use light energy, water and carbon dioxide to make sugars. This is photosynthesis.
4. A tree grows: Sugars supply energy and building material. Photosynthesis also releases oxygen.

One more wonder: A tree gets much of the carbon in its wood from carbon dioxide in the air.


Question: Where does a tree make most of its food?
Answer: In its green leaves

Sources:
US Forest Service: forests and water — https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/newsroom/stories/beneath-surface-hydrology-hidden-forests-systems

Reviewed 28 September 2026. Simplified educational illustration, not to scale.
https://atherverse.com/kids/how-things-work/trees/