Photosynthesis, essential for life on Earth, is the biological process whereby green plants, algae, and certain protists and bacteria convert light energy into chemical energy. Green pigments, called chlorophylls, absorb the light energy, which is incorporated into the molecular structure of simple sugars. This process produces a wide range of organic compounds, mostly simple sugars, known as monosaccharides,
such as glucose. The simple sugars provide the basic materials for the synthesis of more complex carbohydrates, fats, and amino acids. Amino acids can, in turn, be synthesized into proteins. Continue reading ‘Photosynthesis and Cell Respiration’
Tag Archive for 'plants'
For many centuries, people believed that the increase in the size of a plant was caused by the intake of material from the soil. It was not until a Belgian physician, Jan Baptista van Helmont (circa 1577-1644), performed an experiment that demonstrated conclusively what we accept today: the increase in the size of a plant is not due simply to the plant obtaining a mystery substance from the soil; plants gain what they require through the process of photosynthesis.
Photosynthesis uses energy from light captured by photosynthetic pigments, and splits water molecules in the process. The plants fix carbon from carbon dioxide into glucose and fructose chains and oxygen is released as a byproduct. In many plants the sugars then combine to form long chains known as starches. Many plants store their photosynthetic products this way. Continue reading ‘Chromatography of Spinach’
