C Why Plants Emit Isoprene

Why do plants emit so much isoprene into the atmosphere rather than use it for the synthesis of ter-penes and other natural products Tom Starkey, a University of Wisconsin plant physiologist, found that the emission of isoprene is extremely sensitive to temperature. Plants grown at 20 C do not emit isoprene. 

A recent study of hydrocarbon emissions in the Atlanta area revealed that plants are by far the largest emitters of hydrocarbons, with plant-derived isoprene accounting for almost 60% of the total. 

The haze of the Smoky Mountains is caused by light-scattering from the aerosol produced by the photooxidation of isoprene and other hydrocarbons. 

Based on the information in this Chemical Connections what can you deduce about the physical properties of leaf cell membranes  

One of the major differences between the chemistry of alkynes and that of alkenes and alkanes is that a hydrogen bonded to a carbon atom of a terminal alkyne is sufRciendy acidic (pA 25) that it can be removed by a strong base, such as sodium amide, NaNHg, to give an acetylide anion. 

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