Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is a process where plants manufacture their own food using water absorbed by their roots, carbon dioxide absorbed from the atmosphere and sunlight. The chemical that makes this possible is chlorophyll, which gives plants their green colour.
The formula for photosynthesis is as follows:
Water + Carbon dioxide + Sunlight --> Starch + Oxygen
i.e. 11H2O + 12CO2 + Sunlight --> C12H22011 + 12O2
Oxygen is a waste product of this process. Animal
life could not exist without plants because they need
the food and oxygen plants produce.
Last year, Germany installed 960MW of solar photovoltaic power and plans to increase this to over 2800MW by 2010. That’s more than the electricity needed to power Brisbane on a hot summer day.
