How Does Photosynthesis Work?
Learn about the process of photosynthesis.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.And how do you even start to answer this question?Media Editor: Lauren Sims
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.One makes music. One gives advice in Pinocchio. Which is which?
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Every minute, multiple liters of air are cycled through your lungs.
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Created and produced by QA International. © QA International, 2010. All rights reserved. www.qa-international.comLiving organisms influence the cycling of carbon and oxygen through the environment.
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Learn about the role of photosynthesis in glucose and oxygen production in plants. Compare the plant production of glucose and oxygen with the animal production of glucose and carbon dioxide.
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Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Citalliance/Dreamstime.comLearn why leaves of deciduous trees change colour in autumn.
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© MinuteEarth (A Britannica Publishing Partner)The perfect absorbers of solar radiation are black objects, yet plants, which depend on efficient mechanisms of absorbing solar radiation, are overwhelmingly green. Speculation of why this is so ranges from random chance to the possibility that the radiation-absorbing properties of chlorophyll are adequate to provide for the energy needs of Earth's plants.
News •
A tiny ocean animal called the leaf sheep figured out how to make its own food from sunlight
• Nov. 12, 2026, 1:11 AM ET (Earth.com)
Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING] MELISSA PETRUZZELLO: Photosynthesis is one of the most remarkable biochemical processes on the planet. And it occurs at unfathomable rates every day in plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. And what they're doing is capturing the energy from the sun-- literal solar power-- and using it to make their own food. Since plants and algae feed directly or indirectly, basically everything else in the food chain, photosynthesis is kind of important.
Chemically, there is a pigment called chlorophyll that captures the sun's energy. And it uses it to transform six carbon dioxides, six waters into a sugar and six oxygens. And the sugar is used by the plant or algae to grow their bodies. And the oxygen is released. So not only does photosynthesis fill our bellies, but it literally fills our lungs as well.
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Chemically, there is a pigment called chlorophyll that captures the sun's energy. And it uses it to transform six carbon dioxides, six waters into a sugar and six oxygens. And the sugar is used by the plant or algae to grow their bodies. And the oxygen is released. So not only does photosynthesis fill our bellies, but it literally fills our lungs as well.
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