Photosynthesis

plants · energy · oxygen · science

Sunlight becomes food. Plants capture energy from sunlight and use it to create sugar, which is their food. This amazing transformation happens in the leaves, where special green pigments absorb the light.

Oxygen is a gift. When plants make their food using sunlight, they release oxygen as a leftover byproduct. This oxygen is what we breathe, and photosynthesis produces almost all of it in our atmosphere!

Water and air ingredients. Plants take in water through their roots and carbon dioxide from the air through tiny holes in their leaves. These ingredients, plus sunlight, are all they need to create their own food.

Energy stored in bonds. The sugar plants make stores energy in its molecular bonds, like a tiny battery. When the plant needs energy later, it breaks apart the sugar to release that power.

Life depends on it. Photosynthesis is so important that it supplies the energy for almost all complex life on Earth, from tiny insects to enormous whales.