Asked by pman
Describe the inputs and outputs of photosynthesis.
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GPT-5 mini
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Short answer
- Inputs (reactants): carbon dioxide (CO2), water (H2O) and light energy (captured by chlorophyll).
- Outputs (products): sugar (commonly represented as glucose, C6H12O6) and oxygen gas (O2).
Overall chemical equation (simplified)
6 CO2 + 6 H2O + light energy → C6H12O6 + 6 O2
A bit more detail
- Light reactions (thylakoid membranes) use light and H2O to make ATP and NADPH and release O2 as a byproduct (water is split to supply electrons).
- The Calvin cycle (stroma) uses CO2, ATP and NADPH to build carbohydrate molecules (first as G3P, which is then assembled into glucose and other sugars).
- Sugar is used as chemical energy and carbon skeletons for growth; O2 is released to the atmosphere.
Note: some photosynthetic bacteria perform anoxygenic photosynthesis (do not produce O2) using different electron donors instead of water.
- Inputs (reactants): carbon dioxide (CO2), water (H2O) and light energy (captured by chlorophyll).
- Outputs (products): sugar (commonly represented as glucose, C6H12O6) and oxygen gas (O2).
Overall chemical equation (simplified)
6 CO2 + 6 H2O + light energy → C6H12O6 + 6 O2
A bit more detail
- Light reactions (thylakoid membranes) use light and H2O to make ATP and NADPH and release O2 as a byproduct (water is split to supply electrons).
- The Calvin cycle (stroma) uses CO2, ATP and NADPH to build carbohydrate molecules (first as G3P, which is then assembled into glucose and other sugars).
- Sugar is used as chemical energy and carbon skeletons for growth; O2 is released to the atmosphere.
Note: some photosynthetic bacteria perform anoxygenic photosynthesis (do not produce O2) using different electron donors instead of water.
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