Photosynthesis

Sun is the inexhaustible source of energy for earth. The chlorophyll containing organisms are able to absorb the solar energy and convert it into chemical energy in the form of food. This is essentially a mechanism of energy input in the living world which is known as photosynthesis.

Photosynthesis (Gr. photon-light, synthesis-putting together) is defined as an intracellular, anabolic process in which glucose is synthesized using simple inorganic substances like CO2 and H2O

as a raw material, in the presence of light and chlorophyll-a and with the release of oxygen as a by-product. The overall equation of photosynthesis is,

Mechanism of photosynthesis is not as simple as this equation but it involves two distinct phases called,

• light- dependent phase or light reaction

• light- independent phase or dark reaction.

It takes place i.e. chloroplast, as seen under electron microscope and the pigments involved in the process.