Photosynthesis

To get energy, animals must eat food. Algae and green plants, however, do not. Instead, they’re making their own food during a process we call photosynthesis.

Practically all of Earth’s life is depending on this process.

Video Transcription

Photosynthesis also plays an important role in maintaining the levels of carbon dioxide and oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere.

Plants need the following things for photosynthesis:

water
carbon dioxide
light (as an energy source)

Through photosynthesis, plants make the following:

glucose, and
oxygen

The process of photosynthesis is taking place inside the cells of plants in small objects that are called chloroplasts.

These chloroplasts have a green substance that is called chlorophyll.

Chlorophyll absorbs the energy (light) required to make the process of photosynthesis happen.

It is only in the light that plants and algae are able to carry out the process of photosynthesis.

Plants receive carbon dioxide through their leaves from the air and water through their roots from the ground. The energy (light) is coming from the Sun.

The oxygen that is produced is released through the leaves into the air.

The glucose that’s produced in the process may be turned into several substances, like plant oil and starch, that can be used for storing energy.

So again, animals must eat food to get energy, but green plants and algae do not. They make their own food during the process of photosynthesis.

We can say that virtually all life on Earth depends on this process.

Last Updated on September 11, 2024.