Most living things need air to live. You cannot see the air, nut it is all around you. You can feel it when the wind blows. Animals and plants breathe in and out all the time. Without air they would die. Plants need to breathe so they can make food.
Animals and plants need different parts of the air.
Air is made up of nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide. Plants take in carbon dioxide. They use the carbon to make food and release oxygen back into the air. Plants do not breathe in and out in the same way as animals. Instead, they absorb carbon dioxide from the air.
Animals need the oxygen that plants give out.
Animals, including humans, need oxygen to survive. Plants give out the oxygen that we need to breathe. Without plants we would not have enough oxygen. This is one reason why it is important to protect forests, especially the huge rainforests of South America.
Plants breathe with their leaves.
There are tiny holes on the underside of each leaf. Plants take in carbon dioxide and give out oxygen through these holes. The holes are called stomata.