Mastery Check #1 - Photosynthesis
Carbon is often called the element of life. Why is carbon so important to living things? It forms the backbone of most of the complex molecules that make up living things. These include proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and nucleic acids. How does carbon get into living things? How do plants and animals get their energy to survive? The answer to both of these questions is photosynthesis.
This equation tells us that carbon dioxide and water combine together to make glucose sugar and oxygen. This process takes energy and that energy comes from sunlight. The sunlight energy is captured by chlorophyll in plant leaves. The sunlight splits apart a water molecule and that is where the oxygen is produced. The carbon and oxygen from the carbon dioxide combine with the hydrogen from water to produce a molecule called glucose sugar. This glucose sugar can that be converted into all kinds of other molecules used for building things and for energy. The picture on the left summarizes the process of photosynthesis.
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