AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Carbon dioxide and oxygen cannot pass through the cuticle, but move in and out of leaves through openings called stomata (stoma = “hole"). Guard cells control the opening and closing of stomata. When stomata are open to allow gases to cross the leaf surface, the plant loses water vapor to the atmosphere.

Detailed explanation-2: -Stomata are responsible for allowing gas exchange between the inside of the leaf and the atmosphere. Stoma is the singular and stomata is the plural form.

Detailed explanation-3: -Through photosynthesis, they use sunlight and carbon dioxide to make food, belching out the oxygen that we breathe as a byproduct. This evolutionary innovation is so central to plant identity that nearly all land plants use the same pores-called stomata-to take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen.