Photosynthesis

Process in which plants uses the sunlight and water to produce chemical energy in the form of glucose.

This is basically plants producing their own foods unlike us humans where we need to find glucose our body needs.

Light capturing

• Plants capture light using pigments. Pigments that plants commonly use are chlorophyll (green).

• This chlorophyll absorb red and blue visible light but reflects green giving plants their remarkable color.

• Plants can also vary in color like orange (carotenoid), purple and red (anthocyanin), and yellow (xanthophyll).

• Chlorophyll can be found in the chloroplast of the plant cell.

Light dependent reaction

• This process happens in the thylakoid (compartments in the chloroplast that contains pigments). Granum - stack of thylakoi. Grana - multiple stacks.

• The light dependent reaction captures light and splits water molecule.

• This process produces NADPH and ATP needed for the next process.

Light independent reaction _{(calvin cycle)}

• Happens outside of the thylakoid but still inside the chloroplast.

• This process needs the products of LDR.

• It doesn't need sunlight, that why it also called as the dark reaction (but it doesn't need dark either).

• Inorganic carbon dioxide also enters through stomata (pores under the leaves). It is then fixed by enzyme into a more usuable form.

• ATP aids as energy source for LIR, while NADPH produces electrons.

• All this three can converted into glucose.