Process of Photosynthesis
By Irlanda Grado Period 6
Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is the process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water. Photosynthesis in plants generally involves the green pigment chlorophyll and generates oxygen as a by product.
Sun
Not all of the light from the Sun makes it to the surface of the Earth. Even the light that does make it here is reflected and spread out. The little light that does make it here is enough for the plants of the world to survive and go through the process of photosynthesis. Light is actually energy, electromagnetic energy to be exact. When that energy gets to a green plant, all sorts of reactions can take place to store energy in the form of sugar molecules.
Chloropalst
Chloroplasts are the food producers of the cell. They are only found in plant cells and some protists. Animal cells do not have chloroplasts. Every greenplant you see is working to convert the energy of the sun into sugars. Plants are the basis of all life on Earth. They create sugars, and the byproduct of that process is the oxygen that we breathe. That process happens in the chloroplast. Mitochondria work in the opposite direction and break down the sugars and nutrients that the cell receives.
Stomata
Stomata are tiny pores on the surfaces of leaves that permit the exchange of gases between the atmosphere and the inside of the leaf. Each stomata is formed by two specialized epidermal cells, called guard cells. These cells change shape to open and close the pore on a time scale of minutes. In most plants, stomata are between 30 and 60 micrometers long and occur at densities between 50 and 200 per square mm.