Understanding Photosynthesis

When you get hungry, you might decide to search the cookie jar or ask your mother to make a sandwich. You do this because humans and animals get energy from foods they eat. Whereas plants use light energy from the sun to produce the food they need to survive . This process is called Photosynthesis.

Related Diagram

Who discovered it?

Jan Ingenhousz (also called father of photosynthesis) was born on 8 December 1730 in Bowood House and Gardens, United Kingdom. He discovered that the photosynthesis process, used by plants consists of converting sunlight into food. The primary function was to convert solar energy into chemical energy and then store that chemical energy for future use.

The Process

Plants take in carbon dioxide Co2 and water H2o from the air and soil. This transforms the water in oxygen and carbon dioxide into glucose. The plant then releases the oxygen back into the air, and stores energy with the glucose molecules. This process is called photosynthesis.

Steps in Brief

1. Co2 and H2O enters the leaf.
2. Light hits the pigment in the membrane of a thylakoid, splitting the H2O in O2.
3. The electrons move down to enzymes.
4. Sunlight hits the second pigment molecule allowing the enzymes to convert ADP to ATP and NADP + gets converted to NADPH. 
5. The ATP and NADPH is used by the Calvin Cycle as power source for converting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into simple sugar glucose.
6. The Calvin cycle converts Co2 molecules from the atmosphere to glucose.