One of the greatest phenomena of nature is photosynthesis, a fascinating phenomenon, since it tells us that a plant is capable of feeding itself using water, sunlight, carbon dioxide and mineral salts.
Human beings must obtain energy from other living beings, since we cannot obtain energy by ourselves. As for plants, they can get energy by themselves, thanks to the chemical reaction of photosynthesis.
Furthermore, not only plants are capable of carrying it out, since some algae, other elements of the fungi kingdom and even an animal slug is capable of photosynthesizing correctly. Photosynthesis is so called because we are actually generating energy from light and other reactants.
In addition, photosynthesis not only has a beneficial effect on the plant, but is also good for the entire animal world. This is because photosynthesis is capable of producing oxygen, which, although it is only a byproduct of the chemical reaction, is the most important element for the life of all living beings.
In addition, photosynthesis also has another effect that of regulating the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, since these levels without plants would be very high because the living beings that we breathe release a large amount of this as waste. When plants use it as fuel, they transform it into oxygen, thus achieving a practically perfect balance.
Everyone knows photosynthesis by hearsay, since it really is a very complex process with several cycles, several phases such as the light, the dark, the Krebs cycle, the Calvin cycle. Just naming it brings back bad memories of when I had to study it; however, we are not going to do it.
Today we are going to do a somewhat simpler tutorial, explaining what the products of photosynthesis are and explaining the chemical reaction in broad strokes. In this way, we will be able to understand how the process of photosynthesis works without getting too bogged down.
Instructions
- Obtaining raw sap: The first thing that happens in photosynthesis is obtaining the so-called raw sap that is, obtaining the first reagent of the chemical reaction. The first thing we should know is that the person in charge of collecting what is going to be used in the raw sap is the root of the tree, which is in charge of collecting all the water and mineral salts from under the ground. The reactive products of the raw sap are water and mineral salts, since we need hydrogen and oxygen molecules to carry out this reaction. Once the body has obtained it, it will go up the stem to the leaves of the plant, which is where this process takes place.
- Chemical reaction: The chemical reaction of photosynthesis is that magically from carbon dioxide and crude sap, oxygen and glucose are obtained as a result. The glucose will serve to feed the plant and keep it alive and the oxygen, on the other hand, is only a residue of the reaction, which is then very important because without it, living beings as we know them would not exist. The chemical reaction occurs thanks to sunlight, which is what triggers all this reaction, since without light; it is not possible for these compounds to react. At the end, what is commonly known as elaborated sap is created.
- Obtaining energy: From the elaborated sap, that is, from the glucose that has been obtained, the necessary energy for the plant to survive will be obtained. What the plant is going to do is use these glucose molecules in the digestive processes of the plant, which are carried out in other organelles of the cell. Glucose is the simplest energy molecule that exists, so the plant will not have to carry out any process of splitting or breaking particles to be able to use it as an energy source, since it can directly take advantage of it for its vital functions.
- Oxygen release: This is known as the miracle of life, since in the chemical reaction of photosynthesis, curiously enough oxygen is left over, which is released to the outside. What can be treated as a simple residue in the end turns out to be the most important, since it is also obtained from the toxic CO2 that animals constantly release, therefore, it is thus demonstrated that nature is wise, since it self-regulates very good. In addition, plants also need oxygen, since although it seems that they do not, plants also breathe. This is why it seems that you lack oxygen when you sleep in a room full of plants.
