🌿 What Is Photosynthesis?
5th Grade 🧬 Life Science
Photosynthesis is how plants make their own food using sunlight, water and air — and it gives us the oxygen we breathe.
A recipe made of light
Plants take in water through their roots and carbon dioxide (a gas in the air) through tiny holes in their leaves. Using energy from sunlight, they turn these into sugar for food. Oxygen is left over and goes into the air.
Green helpers
The work happens in leaves, inside tiny parts called chloroplasts. They contain chlorophyll, a green substance that catches sunlight — that is why most leaves are green.
Why it matters
Almost all life depends on photosynthesis. Animals eat plants (or eat animals that ate plants), and the oxygen plants release keeps us alive. The word means "putting together with light."
Quick quiz
What gas do plants give off during photosynthesis?
What makes leaves green?
What three things does a plant need for photosynthesis?