Photosynthesis is an important biochemical process in which plants, algae, protistans, and some bacteria convert the energy of sunlight to chemical energy and store it in the bonds of sugar, glucose. Ultimately, nearly all living things depend on energy produced from photosynthesis for their nourishment, making it vital to life on Earth. It is also responsible for producing the oxygen that makes up a large portion of the Earth's atmosphere. Organisms that produce energy through photosynthesis are called photoautotrophs. Plants are the most visible representatives of photoautotrophs, but it should be emphasized that bacteria and algae as well contribute to the conversion of free energy into usable energy.
Plant photosynthesis
Most plants are photoautotrophs (exceptions include the famous venus fly trap), which means that they are able to synthesize food directly from inorganic compounds using light energy -for example the sun, instead of eating other organisms or relying on nutrients derived from them. This is distinct from chemoautotrophs that do not depend on light energy, but use energy from inorganic compounds - like flies and other insects.
The energy for photosynthesis ultimately comes from absorbed photons and involves a reducing agent, which is water in the case of plants, releasing oxygen as a waste product. The light energy is converted to chemical energy, in the form of ATP and NADPH, using the light-dependent reactions and is then available for carbon fixation. Most notably plants use the chemical energy to fix carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and other organic compounds through light-independent reactions. The overall equation for photosynthesis in green plants is:
n CO2 + 2n H2O + light energy → (CH2O)n + n O2 + n H2O
source : hydroponicsearch
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