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Photosynthesis. What is Photosynthesis?. Photosynthesis uses the energy of sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into high energy sugars and oxygen. The Equation. Ignore these 6’s. Carbon Water Glucose(sugar) Oxygen Dioxide. Ingredients (Reactants). Products.
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What is Photosynthesis? • Photosynthesis uses the energy of sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into high energy sugars and oxygen.
The Equation Ignore these 6’s Carbon Water Glucose(sugar) Oxygen Dioxide Ingredients (Reactants) Products
Photosynthesis might save the world! 6H2O + 6CO2 ----------> C6H12O6+ 6O2 Because plants can suck up all of the bad carbon dioxide in the atmosphere!
Autotroph: Can make their own food. • Examples: Plants, algae. • Heterotroph: Cannot make their own food. • Examples: Animals, We are!, A lion gets chemical energy from a deer its eats.
Light and Pigments • Sunlightis a form of ENERGY! • Pigments are molecules that gather the suns energy. It absorbs specific wavelengths of light and reflects all others. • The principle pigment in plants is chlorophyll. It absorbs light in the blue-violet and red regions and REFLECTS green. That’s why plants are green! • Some plants contain red and orange pigments called carotenoids. The yellow pigment is xanthophyll and red/purple is anthocyanin.
There are two stages in Photosynthesis… • Light-Dependent Reactions • Light-Independent Reactions (Dark Reactions/Calvin Cycle) **These both happen in the CHLOROPLAST.
Light Reactions • This happens in the Thylakoid in the chloroplast. • It requires light. • Makes ENERGY- ATP!!!
Dark Reactions a.k.a. Calvin Cycle • This happens in the Stroma of the chloroplast. • This does not require light.
Why is this important to us? *We cannot make our own food(autotroph), we must get our food from plants(heterotroph). *Plants are the first step in the food chain. *The oxygen released during photosynthesis is necessary for all living things.
Factors that Affect Photosynthesis • Water • Temperature • Light Intensity
So, what about the Venus Fly Trap?! It eats insects and it’s a plant! • They eat insects and spiders. • They get a lot of their food from photosynthesis, BUT plants also need essential minerals and amino acids that they get from the soil. • The Venus Fly Trap usually lives in bogs where the soil is very acidic and minerals are scarce.