The equation for photosynthesis is:
6CO2(carbon dioxide) + 6H2O(water) + sunlight energy ----->C6H12O6(glucose...an energy storage molecule and a building block for structural parts of plants,etc.) + 6O2(oxygen). The xylem is a system of cells organized into a tube-like system that transports water from the root hairs of plants all the way to the leaves (where most photosynthesis takes place in plants). As you can see by the equation, water is needed for photosynthesis to occur, but also for the plant to maintain enough turgor pressure to "stand up straight and tall" and be able to harvest solar energy. When the plant makes sugars out of CO2 and water, it uses the phloem (another system of cells arranged into tube-like structures) to transport the sugars made by photosynthesis, which contain the stored energy of the sun, to the parts of the plant that need it, but are unable to perform photosynthesis....like fruits, flowers, and the roots in summer. In the spring, the phloem moves the sugars that are stored in the roots to the branches to supply energy for the leaves to grow back and start photosynthesis again. Plants are absolutely awesome!
6CO2(carbon dioxide) + 6H2O(water) + sunlight energy ----->C6H12O6(glucose...an energy storage molecule and a building block for structural parts of plants,etc.) + 6O2(oxygen). The xylem is a system of cells organized into a tube-like system that transports water from the root hairs of plants all the way to the leaves (where most photosynthesis takes place in plants). As you can see by the equation, water is needed for photosynthesis to occur, but also for the plant to maintain enough turgor pressure to "stand up straight and tall" and be able to harvest solar energy. When the plant makes sugars out of CO2 and water, it uses the phloem (another system of cells arranged into tube-like structures) to transport the sugars made by photosynthesis, which contain the stored energy of the sun, to the parts of the plant that need it, but are unable to perform photosynthesis....like fruits, flowers, and the roots in summer. In the spring, the phloem moves the sugars that are stored in the roots to the branches to supply energy for the leaves to grow back and start photosynthesis again. Plants are absolutely awesome!
