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

2. 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

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

4. 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