Final answer:
CAM plants absorb atmospheric CO₂ during the night and store it for use in photosynthesis during the day, which conserves water by keeping stomata closed in the daytime heat.
Step-by-step explanation:
CAM plants, which include cacti and succulents like jade plants, exhibit a unique photosynthetic pathway known as Crassulacean Acid Metabolism, or CAM.
This process allows these plants to conserve water in arid environments. CAM plants take in atmospheric CO₂ during the night when their stomata open to collect CO₂, convert it to malic acid, and store it in vacuoles.
During the day, these plants close their stomata to conserve water and use the stored CO₂ for photosynthesis to produce carbohydrates using the energy from sunlight captured during the day.