✍🏻 7th Grade Life Science: Photosynthesis

Have you ever wondered how plants get their food? Unlike us, plants don't eat other organisms. Instead, they make their own food through an amazing process called photosynthesis! This word literally means 'making with light.' Photosynthesis is how plants, algae, and some bacteria use sunlight, water, and a gas called carbon dioxide to create sugar (their food) and oxygen. It all happens mainly in the leaves, inside tiny parts called chloroplasts, which contain a green pigment called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll captures the energy from the sun. With this energy, plants convert water from their roots and carbon dioxide from the air into glucose, a type of sugar they use for energy and growth. As a fantastic bonus, they release oxygen into the atmosphere, which is essential for almost all living things, including us! Understanding photosynthesis helps us appreciate the vital role plants play in sustaining life on Earth.