Photosynthesis Plants use energy from sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates (food) and oxygen (a waste product)

Tiny seed to GIANT tree! How? Jan van Helmont Plants need water Joseph Priestly Plants release oxygen Jan Ingenhousz Plants need light Experiments by these scientists led to work that finally discovered that…in the presence of light, plants transform carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates and release oxygen

Equation light 6CO2 + 6H2O C6H12O6 + 6O2 Carbon dioxide + water yields sugars + oxygen in the presence of light

Light and pigments In addition to water and carbon dioxide, photosynthesis requires light and chlorophyll, a molecule in chloroplasts Pigment: light-absorbing molecules Chlorophyll: principal green pigment