1. Deriving the Photosynthetic Equation Who contributed to the development of our understanding of this process…..

2. Jean-Baptiste van Helmont Showed that the weight gain in plants was because of the addition of water while it was growing

3. Joseph Priestly Plants produce oxygen……. The “good” air

4. Jan Ingenhousz Light is essential for photosynthesis !

5. Theodore Engleman He determined that plants produce the greatest amounts of oxygen while in the presence of violet and red wavelengths of light

6. C.B. Van Neil He discovered that the source of oxygen in photosynthesis was from the water……. Not the CO 2 gas

7. Ruben & Kamen They proved that van Niel’s hypothesis was correct using radioactive tags The oxygen gas produced was in fact from the water input into the plant

8. Overall Equation for Photosynthesis 6 CO 2 + 6 H 2 O (REACTANTS) sunlight Red light & violet light 6 O 2 + C 6 H 12 O 6 (PRODUCTS)