Overview of photosynthesis

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An outline of photosynthesis:

  • 6CO2 + 6H20 -> 6O2 + C6H12O6
  • Carbon dioxide + water -> oxygen and glucose
  • Process of energy transferral in which some of the energy in light is conserved in the form of chemical bonds
  • Site of photosynthesis:
  • Leaf - main photosynthetic structure
  • Chloroplasts - cellular organisms within leaf where photosynthesis takes place

Structure of the leaf:

  • Adapted to bring together the three raw materials of photosynthesis - water, carbon dioxide and light
  • Removes the products - oxygen and glucose

Adaptations:

  • Large surface area - absorbs as much sunlight as possible
  • An arrangement of leaves on the plant - minimises overlapping and so avoids the shadowing of one leaf by another
  • Thin - most light is absorbed in the first micrometer of the leaf and the diffusion distance for gases is kept short
  • A transparent cuiticle and epidermis - let light through to the photosynthetic mesophyll cells beneath
  • Long, narrow upper mesophyll

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