1. Photosynthesis
Taylor Funk

2. Photosynthesis is…
 The process through which plants make
their own food. This food is a special
type of sugar called glucose.
 The plants take carbon dioxide and
water and use the energy from the sun
to create glucose and the oxygen we
breathe.

3. Time to fill-in your notes!
1. The purpose of Photosynthesis
is for plants to make their own
food.
2. Their food is a special sugar
called glucose.

4. The plant breathes in CO2 and
absorbs the energy from light.
C
O O
C
O O

5. Energy from the Sun
Remember that light is actually made
up of colors. In the color prism are red,
green, and blue “wavelengths”.

6. Blue and Red light get “eaten”
(absorbed) . Green bounces off.
The plant uses those different colors
of light for different things.
It absorbs and stores the red and
blue, but the green bounces off,
giving the plant its color.

7. Inside the plant:
The Chloroplasts
Cells of
Chlorophyll
Where the reaction happens!
A Chloroplast
Chloroplasts are one
organelle in a plant.
Organelles are like an
organ in a human
body, like a liver,
kidney, lung, etc.

8. Inside the Chloroplasts:
Chlorophyll
Like a jar catches
lightning bugs…
Chlorophyll stores the blue
and red light energies.
Chlorophyll is a chemical inside
the chloroplasts. Some chemicals
in the human body are blood,
enzymes, saliva, etc.

9. Once the Chlorophyll captures
the light, the reaction can occur.
Chloroplast
Chlorophyll

10. Check for Understanding
What is the name of the ORGANELLE
where Photosynthesis happens?
What is the name of the CHEMICAL
that captures the energy from the
light?

11. Time to fill-in your notes!
3. The organelle where
photosynthesis happens is a
chloroPLAST.
4. The chemical inside the
chloroplasts that stores the
light energy is chloroPHYLL.

12. Photosynthesis: the ingredients
C
O O
C
O O
CO2
O
H H
O
HH
H2O
Water
Carbon
Dioxide
C
O O
C
O O
C
O O
O
H H
O
HH
6 CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) + 6 H2O (Water)

13. Time to fill-in your notes!
5. The ingredients of
Photosynthesis are
carbon dioxide and
water.

14. Photosynthesis: powered by light!
Light energy
Just like we use gasoline to
power our cars…
Plants use the light energy
stored in the chlorophyll to
power photosynthesis

15. Time to fill-in your notes!
6. Photosynthesis is
powered by light.

16. Photosynthesis: the products
C6H12O6
Glucose
Glucose is a special kind of sugar
that plants make. Glucose is the
plant’s food source.
O
O
Oxygen
O2
O
O
O
C6H12O6 (glucose) + 6 O2 (oxygen)

17. Time to fill-in your notes!
7. The products of
photosynthesis are
glucose and oxygen.

18. The Equation
 The equation is like a sentence in a book
or a math problem. It quickly sums up
what happens during photosynthesis.
6 CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) + 6 H2O (Water) powered by light
C6H12O6 (Glucose) + 6 O2 (Oxygen)

19. This is what you really need to know!
Work on these questions with your buddy-
don’t use your notes.
 What are the INGREDIENTS for photosynthesis?
(Hint: There are 2!)
 What POWERS photosynthesis? (Hint: It’s like the
gas in our cars)
 What are the PRODUCTS of photosynthesis?
(Hint: There are 2!)
 What is the main purpose of photosynthesis?
Why do plants need to do it? (Hint: Which
product is the MOST important?)

20. Answers
 Carbon Dioxide and Water are the
INGREDIENTS of photosynthesis.
 Light energy POWERS photosynthesis (bonus
points if you remembered that it’s the blue
and red light!)
 Glucose and Oxygen are the PRODUCTS of
photosynthesis.
 Plants have to perform photosynthesis to get
GLUCOSE, because GLUCOSE is their food!

21. References
 All pictures are from either Microsoft Office
Clip Art or were created using a
composition of shapes available in
Microsoft Office.
 I knew about Photosynthesis from science
classes all through grade school, but when
I needed to double-check a fact, I used:
 Rader, A. (2010). “Photosynthesis”. Retrieved from:
http://www.biology4kids.com/files/plants_phot
osynthesis.html