Chapter 1
Photosynthesis and the
carbon cycle
Lower secondary checkpoint
Year 8
Photosynthesis
• Green plants have chlorophyll which is a green pigment in
chloroplasts.
• Chlorophyll absorbs sunlight and then release the energy to make
oxygen and glucose sugar (chemical energy).
Photosynthesis: the process by which plants make carbohydrates using
energy from sunlight.
Importance of photosynthesis
• Photosynthesis provides energy in the form of chemical energy in
nutrients for organisms.
• When animals eat food, they get some of the energy that was
captured by plants.
• Photosynthesis also produces oxygen gas which is taken by living
things during respiration.
• Photosynthesis takes place in leaf cells
(Palisade cells) because they contain
chloroplasts. Other cells may not have
chloroplasts because they don’t carry out
photosynthesis.
• Plants make carbohydrates in their cells.
Carbohydrates are stored as starch in the
chloroplast.
• Take a potted plant with variegated (green and white) leaves.
• Destarch the plant by keeping it in complete darkness for 48 hrs.
• Expose the plant to the sunlight for a few days.
• Leaf boiled in water for 2 minutes to break down cell walls, denature
enzymes and allow for easier penetration by ethanol.
• Warmed in ethanol until leaf is colourless to extract chlorophyll,
which would mask observation.
• Dipped in water briefly: to soften leaf and then Leaf is placed on a
white tile and iodine is added.
• If starch is present, colour will be blue-black and if absent, it will
remain orange.
Structure of the leaf
• Broad and flat part called lamina.
• Lamina is joined to the plant by leaf
stalk or petiole.
• Vascular bundles are running through
the petiole and form veins in the leaf
that contain xylem and phloem tubes.
A leaf consists of several layers of cells that can be
seen in a transverse section.
Minerals and Plant growth
• Farmers add fertilisers to their fields because it makes the
crops grow larger and produce a higher yield. Yield is the
quantity of crop that the farmer harvests.
• Fertilisers contain essential minerals needed for growth.
Plants need only a small amount of minerals to grow.
• Two important minerals for plants are magnesium and
nitrates.
Mineral deficiency
Carbon Cycle
• Carbon is an essential element for life on Earth. Every living
organism has carbon compounds inside each of its cells, such
as fats and proteins. The carbon cycle shows how atoms of
carbon can exist within different compounds at different
times and be recycled between living organisms and the
environment.
Carbon enters the atmosphere as carbon dioxide from respiration and
combustion.
Carbon dioxide is absorbed by producers to make carbohydrates in photosynthesis.
Animals feed on plants, passing the carbon compounds along the food chain. Most
carbon they consume is exhaled as carbon dioxide during respiration. The animals and
plants eventually die.
Dead organisms are eaten by decomposers and carbon in their bodies is
returned to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. In some conditions
decomposition is blocked. The plant and animal material may then be
available as fossil fuel in the future for combustion.
Processes in the carbon cycle:
The carbon cycle is easiest to understand in terms of its processes and
how carbon is converted. The three key processes and the conversions
are shown in the table below.
Process Carbon starts as Carbon ends as
Photosynthesis Respiration Combustion (burning)
Fuel (eg methane or
Carbon dioxide Glucose wood)
Glucose Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide
Activity time
Modelling the carbon cycle
1. Is the process by which plants make glucose and oxygen from carbon dioxide
and water using energy from light.
2. Is a series of chemical reactions that takes place in all living cells in which
energy is released from glucose.
3. Taking in nutrients
4. Fuels such as oil, coal and gas formed from the remains of living organisms
5. Is the process by which dead organic substances are broken down into
simpler organic or inorganic matter such as carbon dioxide.
6. Burning
