Which term refers to plants making their own food?

Which term refers to plants making their own food?

• A. Respiration
• B. Transpiration
• C. Photosynthesis
• D. Chemosynthesis

Answer: (C)

The main concept here is how plants produce their own food using light energy. Photosynthesis is the process by which chloroplasts capture light and convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose (a type of sugar that serves as plant food) and oxygen. This is the way plants synthesize energy-rich compounds from simple inorganic starting materials, with light driving the reaction. A simple way to think about it is: light energy + water + carbon dioxide → glucose + oxygen. The raw materials are turned into stored chemical energy in the glucose, which plants use to grow and thrive. The other terms don’t describe making food: respiration breaks down glucose to release energy for the plant’s cells; transpiration is the loss of water from the plant through stomata; chemosynthesis uses chemical energy from inorganic reactions (not light) to build food, which is typical of some bacteria, not plants.

The main concept here is how plants produce their own food using light energy. Photosynthesis is the process by which chloroplasts capture light and convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose (a type of sugar that serves as plant food) and oxygen. This is the way plants synthesize energy-rich compounds from simple inorganic starting materials, with light driving the reaction.

A simple way to think about it is: light energy + water + carbon dioxide → glucose + oxygen. The raw materials are turned into stored chemical energy in the glucose, which plants use to grow and thrive.

The other terms don’t describe making food: respiration breaks down glucose to release energy for the plant’s cells; transpiration is the loss of water from the plant through stomata; chemosynthesis uses chemical energy from inorganic reactions (not light) to build food, which is typical of some bacteria, not plants.