The Process of Photosynthesis

The Process of Photosynthesis

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Plants are one of the many wonders of the world. They are considered autotrophs; they do not rely on outside sources for their food. They create their own food by the process of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is when green plants and certain other organisms use light energy to change carbon dioxide and water into the glucose. In so doing, photosynthesis provides the basic energy source for almost all organisms. An extremely important byproduct of photosynthesis is oxygen, on which most organisms depend.

Photosynthesis occurs in green plants, seaweeds, algae, and some bacteria. These organisms are virtual sugar factories, producing millions of new glucose molecules per second. Plants use most of this glucose, which is a carbohydrate, as an energy source to build leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds [1]. They also convert the produced glucose into cellulose, which they use as structural material in their cell walls. Most plants produce more glucose than they use, however, and they store it in the form of starch and other carbohydrates in roots, stems (Figure 1), and leaves (Figures 2 & 3). The plants can then draw on these reserves for extra energy or building materials. Each year, photosynthesizing organisms produce about 170 billion metric tons of extra carbohydrates, about 30 metric tons for every person on earth [2].

Photosynthesis has far-reaching implications. Like plants, humans and other animals depend on glucose as an energy source, but they are unable to produce it on their own and must rely ultimately on the glucose produced by plants. Most importantly, the oxygen humans and other animals breathe is the oxygen released during photosynthesis. Humans are al...

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