Lesson Summary:
Photosynthesis is the process where green plants and some protoctists use sunlight energy to produce glucose and oxygen from carbon dioxide and water. It occurs in chloroplasts and is divided into two stages: the light-dependent stage (requires light, splits water, forms ATP and reduced NADP) and the light-independent stage (uses ATP and reduced NADP to fix carbon dioxide into carbohydrates in the Calvin cycle).

Three Things Students Must Learn:

  1. Photosynthesis has two stages: light-dependent (makes ATP, reduced NADP) and light-independent (Calvin cycle makes carbohydrates).

  2. Chlorophyll absorbs light energy to drive photolysis of water.

  3. Chloroplasts are the site of both stages and are essential for energy transfer in plants.