Photosynthesis

PHOTOSYNTHESIS Photosynthesis is the process by which green plants and certain other organisms use the energy of light to convert carbon dioxide and water into the simple sugar glucose. In so doing, photosynthesis provides the basic energy source for almost all organisms. Oxygen is extremely important to photosynthesis, which most organisms depend on. Photosynthesis occurs in green plants, seaweeds, algae, and certain bacteria. Chlorophyll is capable of converting active light energy into a form (glucose) …

…that must be regenerated at the end of the reaction in order for the process to continue. The light-independent reaction requires the presence of carbon dioxide molecules, which enter the plant through pores in the leaf, diffuse through the cell to the chloroplast, and disperse in the stroma. The light-independent reaction begins in the stroma when these carbon dioxide molecules link to sugar molecules called ribulose bisphosphate (RuBP) in a process known as carbon fixation.