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Photosynthesis
What is Photosynthesis?
•Photosynthesis uses the energy
of sunlight to convert water
and carbon dioxide into high
energy sugars and oxygen.
The Equation
Carbon
Dioxide
Water
Ingredients
(Reactants)
Glucose(sugar) Oxygen
Products
Photosynthesis might save the
world!
6H2O + 6CO2 ----------> C6H12O6+ 6O2
Because plants can suck up all of the bad
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere!
•Autotroph: Can make their own
food.
–Examples: Plants, algae.
•Heterotroph: Cannot make their
own food.
–Examples: Animals, We are!, A
lion gets chemical energy from a
deer its eats.
Light and Pigments
• Sunlight is a form of ENERGY!
• Pigments are molecules that gather the
suns energy. It absorbs specific wavelengths
of light and reflects all others.
• The principle pigment in plants is
chlorophyll. It absorbs light in the blueviolet and red regions and REFLECTS
green. That’s why plants are green!
– Some plants contain red and orange pigments
called carotenoids. The yellow pigment is
xanthophyll and red/purple is anthocyanin.
There are two stages in
Photosynthesis…
1. Light-Dependent Reactions
2. Light-Independent
Reactions (Dark
Reactions/Calvin Cycle)
**These both happen in the
CHLOROPLAST.
Light Reactions
• This happens in the
Thylakoid in the
chloroplast.
• It requires light.
• Makes ENERGYATP!!!
Dark Reactions a.k.a. Calvin
Cycle
• This happens in the Stroma of the
chloroplast.
• This does not require light.
Why is this important
to us?
*We cannot make our own food(autotroph),
we must get our food from
plants(heterotroph).
*Plants are the first step in the food chain.
*The oxygen released during photosynthesis
is necessary for all living things.
Factors that Affect
Photosynthesis
1. Water
2. Temperature
3. Light Intensity
So, what about the Venus Fly Trap?! It
eats insects and it’s a plant!
• They eat insects and spiders.
• They get a lot of their food from
photosynthesis, BUT plants also need
essential minerals and amino acids that
they get from the soil.
• The Venus Fly Trap usually lives in bogs
where the soil is very acidic and minerals
are scarce.