How is photosynthesis represented by a chemical equation?

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Diagram of a tree leaf illustrating photosynthesis, with arrows showing sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide entering the leaf and sugars and oxygen being produced. A person is shown beside the tree to demonstrate the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between plants and animals. — photosynthesis Diagram of photosynthesis showing how water, light, and carbon dioxide are absorbed by a plant to produce oxygen, sugars, and more carbon dioxide.

The process of photosynthesis is commonly represented by the following chemical equation:

$6 C O_{2} + 6 H_{2} O \to C_{6} H_{12} O_{6} + 6 O_{2}$

In this reaction, six molecules of carbon dioxide and six molecules of water are converted into one molecule of sugar and six molecules of oxygen. This transformation is driven by light energy captured by chlorophyll.12

It is important to note that this equation is a summary statement. In biological reality, photosynthesis is a complex oxidation-reduction process that occurs in two distinct stages: the light-dependent reactions, which capture solar energy, and the light-independent (or "dark") reactions, which utilize that energy to fix carbon into organic compounds.3