Where do Trees Come From

Where do Trees Come From In my continuing quest to obtain a teaching certificate through MITs excellent STEP program, I am taking two teaching courses this semester. 11.125 focuses more on theory and 11.131 focuses on practical issues. For instance, 11.125 is more likely to talk about whether the tests you write for students are formative or summative, and 11.129 is more likely to talk about how to keep students from cheating on them. Yesterday in 11.125, we talked a little bit about trees. As you know, they grow from seeds, much like this one. Photo courtesy of publicdomainpictures.net And of course if you wait a few years they get quite large Photo courtesy of sherhorosko.wordpress.com So, the question we were asked in class is, where does that huge increase in mass come from? I want to hear your answers and reasoning in the comments just think about it; no Wikipedia! I also want your input on something else for 11.125. I need to sit in on some class at MIT as an impartial observer and take notes on how the teacher interacts with the students. Please look through MITs course catalog and let me know what classes interest you (and what you are wondering about them). I will choose one to check out and report back on it later!