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What are trees made of?

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If someone asked you where the mass of a tree comes from, what would you say?  Have you ever really thought about it as you climbed through tree branches or walked through a forest? Is it the soil the plant is rooted in, the atmosphere above it, what do you think?  Watch this lesson and find out more!

Additional Resources for you to Explore

Veritasium answers more questions about trees like:  How can trees be so tall?  Go out on a limb and find out.  Watch and learn the answer to this question!  What is the world's tallest tree?  Watch this National Geographic video and find out!  Go along with scientists as they study, The President," one of the tallest trees in the world!

What is the true value of a tree?  Trees provide ecosystem services for us and all other organisms.  Trees in an urban setting provide psychological and aesthetic benefits that we do not even realize.  Click here and learn more.

Planting trees has restored depleted ecosystems and helped struggling communities worldwide.  Learn about one amazing woman, Wangari Maathai, founder of the Greenbelt Movement in Kenya. How can planting a tree restore soil, restore a community, and help human rights? For more about Wangari Maathai's vision watch:  "I will be a hummingbird."

What exactly is meant by a closed system?  It is as simple as a pot of boiling water!  Leave the pot of water open to the air with no lid, you have an open system.  Cover the pot of water with a lid, the system is closed.  Can you think of a biologyearth science or chemistry example that shows a closed system?

What is the true monetary value of a tree?  Visit the National Tree Benefits Calculator and find out!  Can we really set a monetary value on trees?  

Interested in reading a book about the tallest trees in the world?  Check out Richard Preston's:  The Wild Trees and find out what it is like to sleep in the canopy of a giant redwood! Then, watch his TED Talk:  The mysterious lives of giant trees or perhaps this TED Talk:  Climbing the world's biggest trees.  Finally, try this TED Ed lesson:  What's hidden among the tallest trees on Earth?  One activist also spent time among the tall trees, watch her story "Among Giants" here.  Why is protecting this wilderness so important to her?

We don't want you to "leaf" wanting more about trees so watch this TED Talk:
Conserving the Canopy: Nalini Nadkani and visit National Geographics: Giant Sequoias!

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