Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis is the way green plants make there own food. It is the production of organic compounds from inorganic molecules using light energy trapped by chlorophyll.

Energy from the sun is used to combine hydrogen from water with carbon dioxide from the air into carbohydrates such as glucose. The glucose produced can be used in respiration, stored as starch, converted to lipids or used to form proteins by adding elements such as nitrogen. Photosynthesis is an anabolic reaction and is a long series of enzyme controlled steps but can be summarised as follows