Photosynthesis is which process

We can thank photosynthesis for bread! Wheat grains, like the ones pictured, are grown in huge fields. When they are harvested, they are ground into a powder that we might recognize as flour.

Humans, other animals, fungi, and some microorganisms cannot make food in their own bodies like autotrophs, but they still rely on photosynthesis. Through the transfer of energy from the Sun to plants, plants build sugars that humans consume to drive our daily activities. Even when we eat things like chicken or fish, we are transferring energy from the Sun into our bodies because, at some point, one organism consumed a photosynthetic organism e.

So the next time you grab a snack to replenish your energy, thank the Sun for it! Please visit our publisher, Carolina Biological , to learn more. View the discussion thread. Skip to main content. Categories Science.

Behind the Scenes. What is Photosynthesis. Are All Snowflakes Really Different? The Science of Winter. What Are Clouds? What is the Winter Solstice? Ashley Deese. Kate Echevarria. A molecule, chlorophyll Chl , is crucial for this process, since it absorbs sunlight. However, the way land plants produce their food is very different from the way plants in the oceans produce their food. Since it is difficult for light to reach underneath the water in the oceans, food production, scientifically called photosynthesis, becomes very slow.

Phycobiliproteins are proteins that make this job easier, by absorbing the available light and passing it on to Chl. These phycobiliproteins are found in tiny, invisible organisms called cyanobacteria. It is, therefore, very important for everyone to understand how cyanobacteria make their food, and what important roles the phycobiliproteins play in the process. When you think of food, do you usually come up with images of your favorite food? This is a natural process, since food is important for every living thing.

To fulfill this basic need, all living things either make their own food or get it from some other source. Humans can eat both plants and animals. Some animals consume other animals, while some animals eat plants as their food.

Ultimately, we see that everybody on this planet is dependent on plants for their food. But then, what do plants eat? The process by which land plants produce their own food using sunlight and carbon dioxide is known as photosynthesis Figure 1. While carbon dioxide is absorbed by the leaves, the sunlight is captured by a chemical molecule in the plant, called chlorophyll Chl.

All photosynthetic organisms contain Chl. Plants in the oceans face problems with light availability. The blue and green portions of light penetrate into the water more than the yellow and red portions of light do Figure 2. Luckily, ocean plants get help in producing food from such limited light and carbon dioxide, from tiny microscopic microbes called cyanobacteria also known as blue-green algae. These microbes have adapted to dim light conditions, and they carry out photosynthesis both for themselves and for the benefit of other living things.

Cyanobacteria are ancient microbes that have been living on our earth for billions of years. Cyanobacteria are said to be responsible for creating the oxygen-filled atmosphere we live in [ 1 ]. For carrying out photosynthesis in low light conditions, cyanobacteria have the help of proteins called phycobiliproteins , which are found buried in the cell membranes the outer covering of the cyanobacteria. There are different types of photosynthesis, including C3 photosynthesis and C4 photosynthesis.

C3 photosynthesis is used by the majority of plants. It involves producing a three-carbon compound called 3-phosphoglyceric acid during the Calvin Cycle, which goes on to become glucose. C4 photosynthesis, on the other hand, produces a four-carbon intermediate compound, which splits into carbon dioxide and a three-carbon compound during the Calvin Cycle.

A benefit of C4 photosynthesis is that by producing higher levels of carbon, it allows plants to thrive in environments without much light or water. Used by the majority of plants, it involves producing a three-carbon compound called 3-phosphoglyceric acid during the Calvin Cycle, which goes on to become a sugar called glucose.

Involves producing a four-carbon intermediate compound, which splits into carbon dioxide and a three-carbon compound during the Calvin Cycle in plants that do not get a lot of light or water. In a plant cell, the protein-containing matrix between the thylakoid membranes and the chloroplast membrane. The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit.

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If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media. Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service. Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. You cannot download interactives. Plants are autotrophs, which means they produce their own food. They use the process of photosynthesis to transform water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide into oxygen, and simple sugars that the plant uses as fuel.