In the photosynthesis reaction, 6 carbon atoms are involved. The overall equation for photosynthesis is:
\[ 6 , \text{CO}_2 + 6 , \text{H}_2\text{O} \rightarrow \text{C}6\text{H}{12}\text{O}_6 + 6 , \text{O}_2 \]
This indicates that 6 molecules of carbon dioxide (\( \text{CO}_2 \)) are used to produce one molecule of glucose (\( \text{C}6\text{H}{12}\text{O}_6 \)), which contains 6 carbon atoms.
So, the correct answer is 6.