Photosynthesis is the process that plants use to turn solar energy into chemical energy. The sun is a very important ingredient for plants, but it is not the only ingredient they need to create chemical energy. Plants use carbon dioxide, water, and solar energy to create oxygen and a chemical energy called sugar!! Always remember that plants produce energy that plants and animals can use. AND, plants produce oxygen. Two things we cannot live without!
Plants have a special chemical called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll captures solar energy from sunlight. This energy is then combined with the carbon dioxide and water. The atoms rearrange to create oxygen and sugar. Think about it! We don’t need carbon dioxide and the sunlight is nearly unlimited. As long as plants have water, they can give us sugar and oxygen!
Photosynthesis creates almost all the oxygen we breathe. Oxygen is VERY important for our survival, we need to breathe air in order to live, and you can thank plants for giving you oxygen. Photosynthesis not only gives plants the energy to live, it gives us the air we need to breathe. Plants make and use the sugars to survive and grow! We also use the sugar in plants for energy when we eat lettuce and leafy salads. And, when I say we need sugar, I don’t mean the artificial, refined sugars in junk food. In order to be healthy and have maximum energy, we need to eat more foods with natural sugar like fruits. Unfortunately, you need to listen when people say you need to eat your fruits and vegetables. They are the best way to get all the energy you need to have fun!
Photosynthesis allows Plants to Live and Grow
Plants convert the stored sugar from photosynthesis to grow tall and make seeds and bloom beautiful flowers. Plants use the sugars from photosynthesis to make new plant cells. These new plant cells make their stems taller, their leaves wider, and their roots deeper. Plants even create special tubes that move water up from the ground into the leaves so photosynthesis can take place.
Why do we breathe Oxygen?
The air around us is made out of many chemicals. 78% of air is made of nitrogen, and 21% of the air is oxygen. Chemicals such as carbon dioxide and argon are also present in teeny tiny amounts (1%). Us humans need and use oxygen to live. The lungs are an organ in our body that carry out the process of gas exchange. Oxygen enters our bloodstream and into our lungs when we take a breath in, and carbon dioxide leaves our bloodstream and into the atmosphere. So, now you know how glucose and oxygen is broken down in our body to eventually energize our cells.