Photosynthesis:

The word Photosynthesis comes from Greek word photo which means light and synthesis which means putting together. So photosynthesis means putting something together with the help of light, basically sunlight. Photosynthesis is the process by which plants and some bacteria and some protistans produce sugar using the energy of sunlight. In photosynthesis process, plants uses carbon dioxide from the air, the energy of sunlight and water for making sugar for themselves releasing oxygen as a waste product. The chemical formula for photosynthesis is:

6H2O + 6CO2 ----------> C6H12O6+ 6O2

It means that six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen.

Proteins called photosynthetic reaction centers absorb energy from light, which contains Chlorophyll. In plants, these proteins are held inside organelles called Chloroplasts, while in bacteria they are embedded in the plasma membrane. Some of the light energy gathered by chlorophylls is stored in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP).

Pigments:
Pigments are light-absorbing molecules, which absorb some wavelengths and transmit others. Because they interact with light to absorb only certain wavelengths, pigments are useful to plants and other autotrophs organisms which make their own food using photosynthesis. Chlorophyll is one kind of pigment.

Chlorophyll:
Chlorophyll looks green because it absorbs red and blue light, making these colors unavailable to be seen by our eyes. It is the green light, which is not absorbed that finally reaches our eyes, making chlorophyll appear green. However, it is the energy from the red and blue light that are absorbed that is, thereby, able to be used to do photosynthesis. The green light we can see cannot be absorbed by the plant and cannot be used to do photosynthesis.

Chlorophyll is the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells, absorbs all wavelengths of visible light except green, which is reflects to be detected by our eyes. Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them. Lighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them. Pigments have their own characteristic absorption spectra, the absorption pattern of a given pigment.

Photosynthesis on plant leaf:

Photosynthesis takes place primarily in plant leaves. A typical leaf has the upper and lower epidermis, the mesophyll, the veins, and the stomates. The upper and lower epidermal cells do not have chloroplasts so photosynthesis does not occur there. They protect the rest of the leaf. The stomates are holes, which occur primarily in the lower epidermis and are for air exchange. They let CO2 in and O2 out. The veins in a leaf are part of the plant's transportation system, moving water and nutrients around the plant as needed. The mesophyll cells have Chloroplasts and this is where photosynthesis occurs.

Stages of Photosynthesis:

Photosynthesis is a two-stage process. The first process is the Light Dependent Process, which is known as Light Reactions, and the second one is Light Independent Process or Dark Reactions. The light reaction happens in the thylakoid membrane and converts light energy to chemical energy. Chlorophyll and several other pigments are organized in clusters in the thylakoid membrane and are involved in the light reaction The dark reaction takes place in the stroma within the chloroplast, and converts CO2 to sugar. This reaction doesn't directly need light in order to occur, but it does need the products of the light reaction such as ATP and another chemical called NADPH. The dark reaction involves a cycle called the Calvin cycle in which CO2 and energy from ATP are used to form sugar.

Importance:
Photosynthesis is vital for life on Earth. As well as maintaining the normal level of oxygen in the atmosphere, nearly all life either depends on it directly as a source of energy, or indirectly as the ultimate source of the energy in their food. The level of carbon dioxide in the environment largely depends on the process of Photosynthesis. Excessive increase or decrease in the level of carbon dioxide can bring forth-disastrous results on the planet earth.

Reference:
http://www.emc.maricopa.edu/faculty/farabee/BIOBK/BioBookPS.html http://biology.clc.uc.edu/Courses/Bio104/photosyn.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photosynthesis

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4. Class Power Point Slides 5. Internet