photosynthesis

PhotosynthesisTaylor Funk

Photosynthesis is… The process through which plants

make their own food. This food is a special type of sugar called glucose.

The plants take carbon dioxide and water and use the energy from the sun to create glucose and the oxygen we breathe.

Time to fill-in your notes!

1. The purpose of Photosynthesis is for plants to make their own food.

2. Their food is a special sugar called glucose.

The plant breathes in CO2 and absorbs the energy from light.

C

O O

C

OO

C

O O

Energy from the Sun

Remember that light is actually made up of colors. In the color prism are red, green, and blue “wavelengths”.

Blue and Red light get “eaten” (absorbed) . Green bounces off.

The plant uses those different colors of light for different things.

It absorbs and stores the red and blue, but the green bounces off, giving the plant its color.

Inside the plant:The Chloroplasts

Cells of Chloroph

yll

Where the reaction happens!A Chloroplast

Chloroplasts are one organelle in a plant. Organelles are like an organ in a human body, like a liver, kidney, lung, etc.

Inside the Chloroplasts:Chlorophyll

Like a jar catches lightning bugs…

Chlorophyll stores the blue and red light energies.

Chlorophyll is a chemical inside the chloroplasts. Some chemicals in the human body are blood, enzymes, saliva, etc.

Once the Chlorophyll captures the light, the reaction can occur.

Chloroplast

Chlorophyll

Check for UnderstandingWhat is the name of the ORGANELLE

where Photosynthesis happens?What is the name of the CHEMICAL

that captures the energy from the light?

Time to fill-in your notes!3. The organelle where

photosynthesis happens is a chloroPLAST.

4. The chemical inside the chloroplasts that stores the light energy is chloroPHYLL.

Photosynthesis: the ingredients

C

O OC

O O

CO2

O

H HO

HH

H2O

WaterCarbon Dioxide

CO

O

C

O O

C

O O

C

O O

OH

H

OH

H

O

H H

O

HH

6 CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) + 6 H2O (Water)

Time to fill-in your notes!

5. The ingredients of Photosynthesis are carbon dioxide and water.

Photosynthesis: powered by light!

Light energy

Just like we use gasoline to power our cars…

Plants use the light energy stored in the chlorophyll to power photosynthesis

Time to fill-in your notes!

6. Photosynthesis is powered by light.

Photosynthesis: the products

C6H12O6

Glucose

Glucose is a special kind of sugar that plants make. Glucose is the plant’s food source.

O

O

Oxygen

O2

O

O

O

O

O

O

O O

O

O

C6H12O6 (glucose) + 6 O2

(oxygen)

Time to fill-in your notes!

7. The products of photosynthesis are glucose and oxygen.

The Equation The equation is like a sentence in a

book or a math problem. It quickly sums up what happens during photosynthesis.

6 CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) + 6 H2O (Water) powered by light

C6H12O6 (Glucose) + 6 O2 (Oxygen)

This is what you really need to know!Work on these questions with your buddy- don’t use your notes.

What are the INGREDIENTS for photosynthesis? (Hint: There are 2!)

What POWERS photosynthesis? (Hint: It’s like the gas in our cars)

What are the PRODUCTS of photosynthesis? (Hint: There are 2!)

What is the main purpose of photosynthesis? Why do plants need to do it? (Hint: Which product is the MOST important?)

Answers Carbon Dioxide and Water are the

INGREDIENTS of photosynthesis. Light energy POWERS photosynthesis

(bonus points if you remembered that it’s the blue and red light!)

Glucose and Oxygen are the PRODUCTS of photosynthesis.

Plants have to perform photosynthesis to get GLUCOSE, because GLUCOSE is their food!

References All pictures are from either Microsoft

Office Clip Art or were created using a composition of shapes available in Microsoft Office.

I knew about Photosynthesis from science classes all through grade school, but when I needed to double-check a fact, I used:

Rader, A. (2010). “Photosynthesis”. Retrieved from: http://www.biology4kids.com/files/plants_photosynthesis.html