The chemistry behind leaves changing colour and falling from trees

Every autumn, trees swap their coats of green for ensembles of red, yellow, orange and brown. But have you ever wondered about the chemistry behind these colour changes? Read this article to discover how pigments such as carotenoids, anthocyanins and tannins contribute to this annual spectacle. Use the article to provide context when teaching colour changes. Make cross-curricular links to biology lessons on chlorophyll’s role in photosynthesis and the electromagnetic spectrum and visible light absorption in physics, too.