Why Do Plants Go Through Photosynthesis?
Photosynthesis is a process that plants need to go through to stay alive. Some forms of bacteria and protistan also photosynthesize. The main reason why plants go through photosynthesis is to create chemical energy, or "food," for themselves, which they can use as fuel. However, it is not really this simple. Does this Spark an idea?
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The Process of Photosynthesis
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Plants contain a substance called chlorophyll, which is what makes them green. Chlorophyll is able to absorb the energy from sunlight into the plant and use it to transform water and carbon dioxide, which enter the plant through its roots, into glucose. Via a process called cellular respiration, this glucose is then turned into adenosine triphosphate (also known as ATP). This ATP is what plants use as fuel to stay alive.
Fuel
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The primary reason why plants go through photosynthesis is to turn water and carbon dioxide into ATP to give themselves fuel. ATP is the food that plants eat. The water and carbon dioxide that a plant's roots retrieve from the soil isn't enough to keep them alive. Without photosynthesis these substances couldn't give a plant all that it needs to survive. If they didn't photosynthesize, plants would die.
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Respiration
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All living organisms have to respire, but plants do this differently than humans and animals do. A plant takes in, or "inhales," water and carbon dioxide. During photosynthesis, the plant creates oxygen. They don't need oxygen, so they release, or "exhale," it. One of the reasons plants photosynthesize is so they can respire.
Creating Organic Compounds
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Another reason why plants photosynthesize is to create organic compounds for their internal use. Any light energy that wasn't used transforming most of the water and carbon dioxide into ATP is used to take electrons from the remaining water. The electrons are used to transform the rest of the carbon dioxide into organic compounds. The process by which this transformation of the carbon dioxide occurs in plants is called the Calvin cycle.
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References
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