Photosynthesis is the process whereby plants produce their own food and nutrients. Photosynthesis takes place in chloroplasts inside the plant, which have chlorophyll in them. Chlorophyll absorbs the sunlight and from the sunlight, green plants combine carbon dioxide and water to make sugar and oxygen. Green plants use sugar to make starch, fats, and proteins in order to survive.
ATP stands for adenosine triphosphate and this is the name of the chemical energy that sunlight is converted into and stored as inside the plant. ATP is the primary energy-storing molecule in living organisms. ATP is then transported throughout the plant via the chloroplast and used to provide the chemical energy necessary to power other metabolic reactions. For example, some of the ATP is used to power the conversion of CO2 into sugars and other compounds which the plant needs to live. The process of making ATP is called photophosphorylation and this chemical is made of the nucleotide adenine bonded to a ribose sugar, and that is bonded to three phosphate groups. This molecule is very similar to the building blocks for our DNA.
ATP is also used at night time in a plant during the ‘dark reaction’ process. The dark reaction involves a cycle called the Calvin cycle in which CO2 and energy from ATP are used to form sugar.
Plants are extremely important to our lives and our environment. Not only do they release oxygen which is vital for us to breathe and live, but they also produce a massive amount of the food we eat including fruits and vegetables. They also provide habitat, shelter and food for the animals we eat so we really could never live without plants.
ATP stands for adenosine triphosphate and this is the name of the chemical energy that sunlight is converted into and stored as inside the plant. ATP is the primary energy-storing molecule in living organisms. ATP is then transported throughout the plant via the chloroplast and used to provide the chemical energy necessary to power other metabolic reactions. For example, some of the ATP is used to power the conversion of CO2 into sugars and other compounds which the plant needs to live. The process of making ATP is called photophosphorylation and this chemical is made of the nucleotide adenine bonded to a ribose sugar, and that is bonded to three phosphate groups. This molecule is very similar to the building blocks for our DNA.
ATP is also used at night time in a plant during the ‘dark reaction’ process. The dark reaction involves a cycle called the Calvin cycle in which CO2 and energy from ATP are used to form sugar.
Plants are extremely important to our lives and our environment. Not only do they release oxygen which is vital for us to breathe and live, but they also produce a massive amount of the food we eat including fruits and vegetables. They also provide habitat, shelter and food for the animals we eat so we really could never live without plants.