Since the atoms in sugar come from water and air, plants are built mainly from material in water and carbon dioxide.
Photosynthesis is the biochemical process by which green plants, algae, and some bacteria convert light energy, usually from the sun, into chemical energy stored in glucose (a type of sugar) using carbon dioxide and water. This process occurs primarily in the chloroplasts of plant cells, where chlorophyll captures light energy. The general equation for photosynthesis can be summarized as:
\[ \text{6 CO}_2 + \text{6 H}_2\text{O} + \text{light energy} \rightarrow \text{C}6\text{H}{12}\text{O}_6 + \text{6 O}_2 \]
This shows that six molecules of carbon dioxide and six molecules of water, utilizing light energy, result in the formation of one molecule of glucose and six molecules of oxygen as a byproduct.