Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis

​Plant food

Plants do not eat food - they make their own! This process is called photosynthesis. Plants used carbon dioxide and water to make glucose and oxygen. Glucose and oxygen contain more energy than carbon dioxide and water. In other words, photosynthesis converts light energy into chemical energy.

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C6H12O6 + 6O2

​glucose + oxygen

6CO2 + 6H2O

​carbon dioxide + water

Equation for photosynthesis:

​light

​Role of chlorophyll

Chlorophyll absorbs the light energy needed for this reaction to take place.

​Things that affect the rate of photosythesis:

• Carbon dioxide concentration

• Light intensity

• Temperature

• Chlorophyll
  

​Carbon dioxide concentration

Plants need carbon dioxide to carry out the process of photosynthesis. This means that the higher the level of carbon dioxide, the quicker the rate of photosynthesis.

​Light intensity

Photosynthesis relies on energy from the sun. This means that the more light there is, the higher the rate of photosynthesis. It also means that plants are unable to photosynthesise at night because there is no light.

​Temperature

Increasing the temperature TO A POINT increases the rate of photosynthesis because it allows the molecules to move quicker and it means enzymes can work quicker.

However, if you increase it too much then the enzymes start to denature and the rate of reaction falls to 0.

​Chlorophyll

Chlorophyll absorbs sunlight which is needed for photosynthesis. If a plant has more chlorophyll, then it allows the plant to photosynthesise more. However if something is wrong with the plant that affects how much chlorophyll the chloroplasts make, then the plant will not be able to photosynthesise as well. This could be due to a lack of nutrients, water or due to a disease the plant has.

​How farmers can artificially create these conditions:

Farmers want their plants to grow as best they can. To do this, they can sometimes artificially change the conditions the plant is in.
For example: using a greenhouse to raise the temperature. They can use artificial light so that the plants can continue to photosynthesise during the night. They can also pump CO2 into the greenhouses.