Photosynthesis: Life from Light and Air

Plants are Energy Producers Like animals, plants need energy to live unlike animals, plants don’t need to eat food to get their energy Plants make both FOOD & ENERGY animals are consumers – (consume energy) plants are producers – (make energy)

How do Plants Make Energy & Food? Plants use the energy from the sun They take in sunlight, and the chlorophyll in the chloroplast converts it into ATP energy. The ATP is used to build sugars. sun ATP sugars

Chloroplasts Leaf Leaf Cells Chloroplast Chloroplasts Contain Chlorophyll

How do Plants Make Energy & Food? Types of sugars found in plants: glucose, sucrose, cellulose, starch, & more The plants need to make these sugars for their own nutrition…but other animals benefit from the plants sugars too!

What do Plants Need for Energy Production? So, the chloroplast is the “factory” for making energy & sugars…but is sunlight all you need? NO! The fuel for building sugars are… Sunlight – changed to ATP by chlorophyll carbon dioxide water The Helpers enzymes Make ATP! Make sugar! I can do it all… And no one even notices! sun CO2 ATP enzymes sugars H2O

Photosynthesis shoot roots - Sugars move around the cell are distributed evenly. They are stored in the vacuoles of each cell. shoot roots

Now we need to balance the equation! The Complete Equation CO2 H2O C6H12O6 O2 light energy  + Carbon Dioxide Water Glucose Oxygen Now we need to balance the equation! (This means having the same number of molecules of each side. You need a certain number of carbon molecules and water molecules for this process to work.

How do Plants Make Energy & Food? sun What does the plant do once it has sugar? Breaks it down for additional energy and ATP. We call this Respiration takes in the sugar molecule and oxygen breaks it down to make additional ATP ATP is the energy used in ALL LIFE ATP H2O + CO2 sugars carbon dioxide CO2 water H2O sugars C6H12O6 +

Leaf Structure

Function of Leaf Structures Cuticle waxy coating reduces water loss Epidermis skin protecting leaf tissues

Function of Leaf Structures Palisades layer high concentration of chloroplasts collecting sun’s energy photosynthesis making ATP & sugars Spongy layer air spaces gas exchange CO2 in for sugar production, remove waste O2

Stomates & Guard Cells Function of stomates Function of guard cells CO2 in O2 out H2O out gets to leaves for photosynthesis Function of guard cells open & close stomates – regulates water homeostasis in plants.

Stomates & Guard Cells sun

Transpiration Water evaporates from the stomates in the leaves CO2 Water evaporates from the stomates in the leaves pulls water up from roots water molecules stick to each other more water is pulled up tree from ground O2

Xylem and Phloem The “veins” of the plant Carry sugars around the plant wherever they are needed new leaves fruit & seeds roots

Energy Cycle ATP Photosynthesis Cellular Respiration sun CO2 O2 H2O plants H2O CO2 glucose sugars O2 animals, plants Cellular Respiration ATP

organic molecules food consumers, heterotrophs release chemical energy sun Another View… capture light energy Photosynthesis synthesis producers, autotrophs H2O waste CO2 O2 organic molecules food waste waste consumers, heterotrophs digestion Cellular Respiration ATP release chemical energy

The Poetic Perspective All of the solid material of every plant was built out of thin air All of the solid material of every animal was built from plant material sun air Then all the cats, dogs, mice, people & elephants… are really strands of air woven together by sunlight!

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