The word photosynthesis comes from the Greek and is formed by the term photo, which is equivalent to light, and by synthesis, which means the formation of compounds.
In the field of biology, photosynthesis refers to the ability of plants to transform light energy from the Sun into chemical energy. This process allows plants to generate their own food.
If this process did not occur, life on the planet would not be possible.
The main idea of photosynthesis and the development of the process
Plants absorb carbon dioxide (CO2), more water (H20), more photons, or sunlight. With these elements they can generate carbohydrates and oxygen. In this sense, carbohydrates provide energy to animals and oxygen is essential for the respiration of living beings. Photosynthesis is a type of anabolic chemical reaction, which means that substances are created or synthesized from others.
The first section of the process is the absorption of light. In this sense, sunlight is captured by chlorophyll in plants. Plants obtain carbon dioxide through stromata found in leaves and on the stem. Plants absorb water in two ways: through the roots that are in contact with the soil or through the stroma in the form of water vapor. Therefore, in photosynthesis there are two different stages: the one that depends on the light and the one that is independent of it. In the first, energetic molecules (such as ATP) and also oxygen are generated. In the second, the ATP produced is used for the formation of glucose.
The process of photosynthesis allows us to understand how plants eat and how oxygen is produced in the atmosphere
Like any other living being, plants need nourishment to live. However, unlike animals, they do not feed on other animals, but rather on light, water and minerals. Plants make their own food, the elaborated sap that is basically made up of glucose.
Plant nutrition requires three elements: water, mineral salts and carbon dioxide. Regarding the feeding process, it is made up of four phases:
1) in the first, the plants absorb the water and mineral salts found in the soil through the roots,
2) once the water and mineral salts have been absorbed, the plants create the raw sap that circulates through woody tubes towards the leaves,
3) there are small pores in the leaves through which carbon dioxide from the air enters,
4) this gas mixes with the raw sap and, combined with sunlight, becomes processed sap, which allows it to feed the entire plant as a whole.
In all this process, plants expel oxygen that is released into the atmosphere and with which life is possible in all living beings.
Explanatory process of Photosynthesis
