What is the relationship between Photosynthesis & CO2?
Carbon dioxide plays a vital role in the process of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis describes the chemical plant process where the carbon from the carbon dioxide, water and light combine to make sugars. These sugars are the basis for carbohydrates, lignin, proteins, vitamins enzymes and hormones found in plants. In this process Oxygen is released back into the atmosphere. Photosynthesis takes place in plant leaves and specifically in “chloroplasts”. The main parts of a leaf are the upper & lower epidermis, the mesophyll cells, the vascular bundles (veins) and the stomata. The stomata are pore-like openings on the under side of the leaf. They allow air transfer, i.e. transfer of CO2 and O2, CO2 into the plant and O2 out of the plant. The Mesophyll cells have chloroplasts and it is in these cells that photosynthesis occurs. Mesophyll cells absorb the carbon dioxide transferred from the surrounding air by the stomata. Carbon combines with water to create sugars that form the basis of plant
