Essay on Photosynthesis
Students are often asked to write an essay on Photosynthesis in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.
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100 Words Essay on Photosynthesis
What is photosynthesis.
Photosynthesis is how plants make their own food using sunlight. It happens in the leaves of plants. Tiny parts inside the leaves, called chloroplasts, use sunlight to turn water and carbon dioxide from the air into sugar and oxygen. The sugar is food for the plant.
The Ingredients
The main things needed for photosynthesis are sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. Roots soak up water from the soil. Leaves take in carbon dioxide from the air. Then, using sunlight, plants create food and release oxygen.
The Process
In the chloroplasts, sunlight energy is changed into chemical energy. This energy turns water and carbon dioxide into glucose, a type of sugar. Oxygen is made too, which goes into the air for us to breathe.
Why It’s Important
Photosynthesis is vital for life on Earth. It gives us food and oxygen. Without it, there would be no plants, and without plants, animals and people would not survive. It also helps take in carbon dioxide, which is good for the Earth.
250 Words Essay on Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is a process used by plants, algae, and some bacteria to turn sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into food and oxygen. Think of it like a recipe that plants use to make their own food. This happens in the leaves of plants, which have a green substance called chlorophyll.
Why is Photosynthesis Important?
This process is very important because it is the main way plants make food for themselves and for us, too. Without photosynthesis, plants could not grow, and without plants, animals and humans would not have oxygen to breathe or food to eat.
How Photosynthesis Works
Photosynthesis happens in two main stages. In the first stage, the plant captures sunlight with its leaves. The sunlight gives the plant energy to split water inside its leaves into hydrogen and oxygen. The oxygen is released into the air, and the hydrogen is used in the next stage.
In the second stage, the plant mixes the hydrogen with carbon dioxide from the air to make glucose, which is a type of sugar that plants use for energy. This energy helps the plant to grow, make flowers, and produce seeds.
The Cycle of Life
Photosynthesis is a key part of the cycle of life on Earth. By making food and oxygen, plants support life for all creatures. When animals eat plants, they get the energy from the plants, and when animals breathe, they use the oxygen that plants release. It’s a beautiful cycle that keeps the planet alive.
500 Words Essay on Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is a process used by plants, algae, and some bacteria to turn sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into food and oxygen. This happens in the green parts of plants, mainly the leaves. The green color comes from chlorophyll, a special substance in the leaves that captures sunlight.
The Ingredients of Photosynthesis
To make their food, plants need three main things: sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. Sunlight is the energy plants use to create their food. They get water from the ground through their roots. Carbon dioxide, a gas found in the air, is taken in through tiny holes in the leaves called stomata.
The Photosynthesis Recipe
When sunlight hits the leaves, the chlorophyll captures it and starts the food-making process. The energy from the sunlight turns water and carbon dioxide into glucose, a type of sugar that plants use for energy, and oxygen, which is released into the air. This process is like a recipe that plants follow to make their own food.
The Importance of Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is very important for life on Earth. It gives us oxygen, which we need to breathe. Plants use the glucose they make for growth and to build other important substances like cellulose, which they use to make their cell walls. Without photosynthesis, there would be no food for animals or people, and no oxygen to breathe.
The Benefits to the Environment
Photosynthesis also helps the environment. Plants take in carbon dioxide, which is a gas that can make the Earth warmer when there is too much of it in the air. By using carbon dioxide to make food, plants help keep the air clean and the Earth’s temperature just right.
Photosynthesis and the Food Chain
All living things need energy to survive, and this energy usually comes from food. Plants are at the bottom of the food chain because they can make their own food using photosynthesis. Animals that eat plants get energy from the glucose in the plants. Then, animals that eat other animals get this energy too. So, photosynthesis is the start of the food chain that feeds almost every living thing on Earth.
Photosynthesis in Our Lives
Photosynthesis affects our lives in many ways. It gives us fruits, vegetables, and grains to eat. Trees and plants also give us wood, paper, and other materials. Plus, they provide shade and help make the air fresh and clean.
In conclusion, photosynthesis is a vital process that allows plants to make food and oxygen using sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. It is the foundation of the food chain and has a big impact on the environment and our lives. Understanding photosynthesis helps us appreciate how important plants are and why we need to take care of them and the environment they live in.
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What is Photosynthesis?
This essay will explain the process of photosynthesis, detailing how plants convert light energy into chemical energy. It will discuss the role of chlorophyll, the light-dependent and light-independent reactions, and the importance of photosynthesis in the Earth’s ecosystems. The piece will also consider the impact of photosynthesis on the environment and its significance in scientific research and sustainable development. At PapersOwl too, you can discover numerous free essay illustrations related to Cellular Respiration.
How it works
Photosynthesis is the process that transforms organisms from light energy into chemical energy. In order for photosynthesis to take place, it needs these three things: Water, carbon dioxide, and sunlight. As humans, in order to live plants, must take in gases. Plants are known as “”autotrophs, which means organisms that can make their own food.
The process of photosynthesis was created and developed Jan Ingenhousz, a British physician and scientist. Joseph Priestley was another scientist who contributed to the discovery of photosynthesis Jan also discovered that plants have cellular respiration just like animals.
Priestley discovered that plants absorb and make gases, he also identified “”gas like oxygen. Another fact that he discovered was, oxygen gives off more light than carbon dioxide that is given off in the dark.
Photosynthesis has two major stages, the light stage, and the dark stage. The light stage is used to make NADPH and ATP. NADPH gives the electrons to fix the carbon dioxide into carbohydrates. Dark reactions will not continue if plants are taken away from light for too long. “”Plants get carbon dioxide through their leaves and water from the ground through their roots, plants also make their own food from sunlight. During photosynthesis, plants make their own foods. The formula for photosynthesis is known as carbon dioxide + water + light energy oxygen + glucose.
Gases get gas through the process called respiration. Respiration is the process that cells use oxygen to break down sugar and absorb energy, it is the opposite of photosynthesis. During respiration, oxygen is joined with hydrogen to form water for plants. This process involves using the sugars that were made during photosynthesis to produce energy for the growth of a plant. During respiration, plants take up nutrients just to keep the plant cells from dying. The formula for respiration is known as, oxygen + glucose carbon dioxide + water + heat energy.
If there was no photosynthesis, we would not be alive today because there would be no oxygen or food for us to live. When it is daytime photosynthesis creates glucose and oxygen more quickly than respiration utilizes it. Photosynthesis occurs in the cells of plant leaves, it takes place in the chloroplasts. The cells in the plant take in light from the sun through chlorophyll. The stem and leaves of a plant have little holes called the stomata, this is where carbon dioxide enters the plant. When the carbon dioxide is sucked up by the leaves, water goes into the plant through the plant’s roots. When sunlight goes onto the leaves of a plant the chlorophyll traps the energy into the leaves and stores the energy.
The Calvin cycle is apart of photosynthesis, it is another word for light-independent reactions. The Calvin cycle is where chemical reactions occur in chloroplasts while photosynthesis is occurring. This cycle takes place in the stroma, this doesn’t need direct sunlight, the Calvin cycle also takes place at night time. ATP and NADPH are products of light reactions, ATP is present to be broken down to have energy released. NADPH is present to transform carbon dioxide molecules into glucose (sugars).
During darkness hours plants can’t perform photosynthesis so instead they do cellular respiration, which occurs in the mitochondria. During the dark reaction plants use carbon dioxide from the light-dependent reactions in order to produce glucose.
There are steps to photosynthesis in a plant of course but, what are these steps? You might ask. The first step is, the plant pulls up minerals and water from the ground’s roots, the second step is, leaves take in carbon dioxide, they do this to set free oxygen. The third step is the sunlight releases energy to the chloroplasts to create glucose which is sugar, the food. The last step is especially important because it provides energy for the plant so that it can produce sugars (glucose). When the sugar is made, it gets broken down by the mitochondria (used to produce energy in a cell) to produce energy for the growth of the plant.
Light-dependent reactions make molecules needed for the next stage of photosynthesis by using light energy, light energy is kinetic energy. Oxygen that is produced during the light-dependent reactions is released into the atmosphere. As said in paragraph 5, ATP and NADPH are products of light reactions moreover, are compounds and are made by sunlight being absorbed and converted into chemical energy. Light energy travels in waves and is a form of electromagnetic radiation. Pigments absorb the light that is used in the photosynthesis process.
In the 20th century, correlations between the photosynthetic procedures in green plants and in certain photosynthetic sulfur, microscopic organisms gave important data about the photosynthetic component. Sulfur microbes use hydrogen sulfide as a source of hydrogen and deliver sulfur rather than oxygen when photosynthesis is occurring. In the 1930’s, a Dutch biologist named Cornelis Van Niel recognized that the use of carbon dioxide in organic compounds in both photosynthetic organisms was similar. The biologist suggested that there were differences in the light-dependent stage and was used as a source for hydrogen atoms, Niel suggested that hydrogen should be transferred from hydrogen sulfide or into the water.
Overall, photosynthesis is a very complex process with steps involved. Photosynthesis is a very important part of life because it provides oxygen to all living things and living things need oxygen in order to survive. All organisms must grow and reproduce energy and without photosynthesis that wouldn’t be possible. The energy derived from the sun would be wasted without photosynthesis and would leave behind lifeless plants that we need on earth. Plants need photosynthesis and humans need plants, so where exactly would we be without photosynthesis?
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Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration Essay
Photosynthesis is one of the primary sources of energy for living organisms. The fossilized photosynthetic fuels account for almost 90% of the energy in the world (Johnson, 2016). Cellular respiration is a process that takes place in the living organism and converts nutrients into energy. This essay will examine photosynthesis and cellular respiration separately and identify similarities, differences, and interconnectedness between two processes. Two processes are similar in that they both deals with energy, but they are different because one process involves catabolic reactions and another anabolic one.
The purpose of photosynthesis is to convert atmospheric carbon dioxide into carbohydrates using light energy. The light splits one of the reactants, water in the mesophyll of the leaf into oxygen, electrons, and protons during the light-dependent phase (Johnson, 2016). Then carbon dioxide enters the mesophyll of the leaf through openings, stomata, during the light-independent phase. These two reactions differ in light utilization and molecules production. The first reaction products are oxygen, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) that are used as energy storages, while by the end of the second reaction, the carbohydrate is obtained, and molecules mentioned above are used (Flügge et al., 2016). Photosynthesis occurs in the chloroplast with the light-dependent reaction taking place in the thylakoid membrane, and light-independent reaction in the stroma. The energy produced in the light reaction is used to fix carbon dioxide and produce carbohydrates while oxygen is released outside. According to the following equation of the photosynthesis, C → O2 + 2H20 + photons (CH2O)n + electrons + O2 carbon monoxide and water are transferred into carbohydrates under the light with the release of atmospheric oxygen.
The purpose of cellular respiration is to convert nutrients into energy. The reactants of the respiration are glucose circulating in the blood and oxygen obtained from breathing, while the product is ATP. Cellular respiration starts from glycolysis in the mitochondria’s stroma, where the glucose is broken down into pyruvate (Bentley & Connaughton, 2017). Then it continues with the citric acid cycle that generates ATP, NADH, and FADH2. In the final stage, the electron transport chain uses these molecules to generate more ATP. The energy produced is then used for metabolic processes in the organism, while carbon dioxide is released with breathing (BBC Bitesize, n.d.). According to the following equation of the cellular respiration, C → 6H12O6 + 6O2 6CO2 + 6H2O the glucose is broken down into carbon dioxide and water with the presence of oxygen.
There are two main differences between photosynthesis and cellular respiration. The first one is the anabolic process, during which complex compounds are synthesized, while the second one is catabolic, which involves breaking down the compounds (Panawala, 2017). The second crucial difference is that photosynthesis is found only in chloroplasts, while cellular respiration is found in any living cell, making it a universal process. There are also two main similarities between photosynthesis and respiration. The first similarity is that both processes involve the production of ATP (Stauffer et al., 2018). The second similarity is that both processes utilize ATP but for different purposes.
Photosynthesis and cellular respiration are connected in such a way that they allow to perform metabolic functions normally. Moreover, these processes help to regulate the concentration of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. If photosynthesis stopped occurring, the level of oxygen would drop dramatically This would lead to deaths of all living organisms whose lives depend on this molecule. Whereas if cellular respiration stopped happening, living creatures would not be able to generate energy and sustain life.
To conclude, photosynthesis plays a crucial role in maintaining life on Earth. Photosynthesis uses light energy to produce oxygen, while cellular respiration uses oxygen to break down complex molecules and provide energy. These processes are different in their metabolic nature, but similar in terms of energy storage. If photosynthesis did not exist, the life for oxygen-dependent creatures would become extinct. Similarly, in the case of cellular respiration disappearing, living organisms would not be able to produce energy.
BBC Bitesize . (n.d.). Respiration. 2020. Web.
Bentley, M., & Connaughton, V, P. (2017). A simple way for students to visualize cellular respiration: Adapting the board game MousetrapTM to model complexity . CourseSource. 4, 1-6. Web.
Flügge, W., Westhoff, P., & Leister, D. (2016). Recent advances in understanding photosynthesis. F1000 Research, 5, 1-10.
Johnson, M. P. (2016). Photosynthesis. Essays Biochemistry , 60 (3), 255-273.
Panawala, L. (2017). Difference between photosynthesis and respiration. IE PEDIAA. Web.
Stauffer S., Gardner A., Ungu D.A.K., López-Córdoba A., & Heim M. (2018). Cellular respiration. In Labster virtual lab experiments: Basic biology (pp. 43-55). Springer.
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"Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration." IvyPanda , 21 Feb. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/photosynthesis-and-cellular-respiration/.
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Photosynthesis is a process used by plants, algae, and some bacteria to turn sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into food and oxygen. Think of it like a recipe that plants use to make their own food. This happens in the leaves of plants, …
Photosynthesis is one of the most fundamental biological reactions. The chlorophyll bearing plants trap the free energy of sunlight as photons and transform and store it as chemical …
Photosynthesis is a biological process in which plants utilize the available carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to give out oxygen. There is also the presence of a green pigment called chlorophyll is involved in the transfer of …
Photosynthesis is a fundamental process that underpins the entire ecosystem, and studying it can provide valuable insights into the interconnectedness of life on Earth. Furthermore, …
Photosynthesis is the process that plants use light energy from the sun to make their own food. Cellular respiration is a chemical process plants use to release the stored chemical energy from glucose as usable chemical …
This essay will explain the process of photosynthesis, detailing how plants convert light energy into chemical energy. It will discuss the role of chlorophyll, the light-dependent and light-independent reactions, and the …
Photosynthesis uses light energy to produce oxygen, while cellular respiration uses oxygen to break down complex molecules and provide energy. These processes are different in their metabolic nature, but similar in terms of energy …
Photosynthesis, the remarkable process that occurs in plants and some microorganisms, holds immense significance for life on Earth. It is the driving force behind the production of oxygen, …