The diagram shows a summary of photosynthesis.%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0AWhat substances do each of the letters represent?%0D%0A%0D%0A a%0D%0AW is CO2; X is O2; Y is H2O; and Z is glucose.%0D%0A b%0D%0AW is H2O; X is O2; Y is CO2; and Z is glucose.%0D%0A c%0D%0AW is H2O; X is O2; Y is glucose; and Z is CO2.%0D%0A d%0D%0AW is O2; X is H2O; Y is CO2; and Z is glucose.

Answer 1

Photosynthesis is the process by which plants convert light energy into chemical energy, using carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) to produce glucose and oxygen (O2). The overall simplified equation for photosynthesis is:

\[ \text{6 CO}_2 + \text{6 H}_2\text{O} \xrightarrow{\text{light energy}} \text{C}6\text{H}{12}\text{O}_6 + \text{6 O}_2 \]

Based on this equation, we can identify what each letter might represent.

• W represents H2O (water)
• X represents O2 (oxygen)
• Y represents CO2 (carbon dioxide)
• Z represents glucose (C6H12O6)

So, the correct answer is:

b: W is H2O; X is O2; Y is CO2; and Z is glucose.