Photosynthesis

• Plants need water and carbon dioxide to survive. Plants absorb water and minerals through their roots.

• Water travels up the roots through the stem to the leaves.

• Water evaporates from leaf tissues and is released through the stomata as water vapor.

• Carbon dioxide, a gas, gets into plants through the stomata.

• Because leaves usually have more stomata on the lower leaf surfaces, more carbon dioxide enters the spaces of the spongy layer.

• Chlorophyll is a pigment that traps light energy for plants to use in making food.

• Photosynthesis is the process in which plants use light energy to produce food.

• What do plants need besides light to make food?

Light energyCarbon

dioxidewater

• Some of the light trapped in the chlorophyll splits the molecules in water to form sugar or glucose

• This glucose is used by plants for existence and growth.

• It can be stored also in the roots or stems of plants as sugar, starch or other products.

Why is photosynthesis important to living things?

Photosynthetic organisms provide food for nearly all the consumers on Earth.

Through photosynthesis, plants remove carbon dioxide from the air and also produce oxygen that most organisms need to stay alive.

As much as 90% of the oxygen entering our atmosphere today probably comes as a result of photosynthesis.

1. What is photosynthesis?2. What do plants need to make food?3. What is produced when chlorophyll

splits the molecules in water?4. Why is photosynthesis important to

living things?5. Trace the pathway of water from the

roots to the other parts of the plant.

Questions to answer:

Thank you! =)