INTRODUCTION TO PHOTOSYNTHESIS

                               by the super blogger prashant gupta

PHOTOSYNTHESIS

The process of synthesis of food using sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water is known as photosynthesis.

We know that plants manufacture their own food.

But where does the production of food take place in plants? Let’s see in this video.

Leaves are the food factories of plants. They are the sites where the synthesis of food occurs in plants.

But why do only leaves manufacture food for plants? What process is involved in the synthesis of food?

The leaves of plants contain a green pigment called chlorophyll. This pigment captures the sun’s energy, which is used to prepare food from carbon dioxide and water. The process of synthesis of food using sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water is known as photosynthesis.

What happens during photosynthesis?

Since solar energy is essential for plants to prepare food, we can say that sun is the ultimate source of energy for plants and otherwise.

 During the process of photosynthesis, the leaves containing chlorophyll convert carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates in the presence of sunlight. This process can be represented in the form of the following equation:

Carbohydrates, which are produced during photosynthesis, are ultimately converted into starch to be stored in plants.

Know Your Scientists:

Year	1770	1779	1854
Name of scientist	Joseph Priestly	Jan Ingenhousz	Julius Von Sachs
Discovery/Finding	Concluded that air is necessary for the growth of a plant. He discovered the fact that plants restore oxygen in the air.	Concluded that sunlight is essential for plant processes that purify the air. He also discovered that the green parts of plants release oxygen.	Discovered that the chlorophyll is located in special bodies called chloroplast. Green parts of plants are where glucose is made, which is stored as starch.

Curiosity Corner: Now, not all leaves are green in colour. Does photosynthesis take place in these leaves too? Yes, Leaves which are not green in colour also contain chlorophyll. They are not green in colour because they contain other pigments such as red, brown, yellow etc, which mask the green colour of leaves. Can you tell why potted plants are advised to be placed in well-lit areas? Plants require sunlight to manufacture food. Without sunlight, photosynthesis cannot take place in plants, and can even lead to the death of plants. Hence, it is advisable to place potted plants in areas receiving sufficient sunlight.

Let us perform the following activity to test the production of food in plants.

We now know that plants require water and carbon dioxide, in the presence of sunlight, to carry out photosynthesis. How are raw materials supplied to plants?

The tiny pores found on the underside of leaves are called stomata. Carbon dioxide enters leaves through stomata.

Water and minerals enter plants through the roots. They are transported to leaves by the tiny vessels present throughout the plant body.

Therefore, the carbohydrates produced in leaves are converted into starch, while the oxygen produced in the process is released into the atmosphere through the stomata.