What is the process by which plants convert sunlight into chemical energy?

Photosynthesis is the process by which plants, along with some algae and bacteria, convert sunlight into chemical energy. This occurs primarily in the chloroplasts of plant cells, where chlorophyll captures light energy. During photosynthesis, plants take in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and water from the soil. Using the energy from sunlight, they convert these raw materials into glucose, a type of sugar that serves as a primary energy source. Oxygen is released as a byproduct of this process.

This ability to convert solar energy into chemical energy is fundamental to the survival of plants and forms the basis of the food chain, as this chemical energy can be used by other organisms through consumption. In contrast, cellular respiration refers to how organisms utilize glucose and oxygen to produce energy, transpiration involves the movement of water through plants and its evaporation from aerial parts, and fermentation is an anaerobic process that occurs in the absence of oxygen to convert glucose into energy, typically in certain microorganisms and some plant tissues.