Final answer:
Corn plants use sugar as their food because they are photosynthetic autotrophs that produce their own food through photosynthesis. They transform sunlight into chemical energy stored as sucrose, which is used for growth and converted into starch within the kernels.
Step-by-step explanation:
Mr. Cullenberg's statement that 'My corn plants use sugar as their food' is best explained by option (a) Because corn plants photosynthesize and produce their food. As photosynthetic autotrophs, corn plants capture energy from sunlight and convert it into chemical energy, creating sugars such as sucrose through the process of photosynthesis. These sugars provide the necessary energy for growth and development of the plant. During photosynthesis, corn, which uses the efficient C4 pathway, absorbs carbon dioxide and releases oxygen, using the energy from sunlight to transform carbon dioxide and water into sucrose and other photosynthates. The sucrose is then used within the plant to produce starch, especially in the corn kernels, contributing to the energy reserves that will support new plant growth.
Seeds like corn kernels store food as polymers, which convert into sucrose during early development. The developing plants then use the sugars for further growth. Moreover, maize, or corn, has been domesticated to produce a variety of food products, including animal feed, ethanol fuel, and sweeteners like corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup, with the production of starch from the abundant sugars being a crucial aspect of its development.