The Steps of Photosynthesis

It's a beautiful day. The sun is shining. The wind is blowing. The branches on the trees sway from side to side as if they were rocking their leaves to sleep. But those leaves are not sleeping! They are actually hard at work making food for themselves and oxygen for you. They are photosynthesizing.


Green plants are autotrophs, or producers. They use light energy from the sun to make food. This chemical process is called photosynthesis. Plants need three things for photosynthesis to occur: sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. The sun's light, or energy, is absorbed by the chlorophyll in the cells of the plant. Water is taken from the soil and travels through the plant's root system. Carbon dioxide enters the plant's leaves through tiny openings called stomata.


Once the plant has all of its ingredients, the process can begin. First, energy that the plant has collected from the sun splits the water .....


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