UNIT OVERVIEW

Every meal you eat and every breath you take depends on photosynthesis. This process allows plants to capture light energy and store it as food. Without photosynthesis, there would be no oxygen to breathe and no food to eat.

In this unit, you will learn how plants make their own food, where this happens inside plant cells, and why it matters for all life on Earth.

What you will learn:

• The word and symbol equations for photosynthesis
• Where photosynthesis occurs (chloroplast structure)
• The two phases of photosynthesis (overview)
• Why photosynthesis is important for life
• How light, carbon dioxide, and temperature affect the rate of photosynthesis
• How greenhouses use controlled conditions to grow more crops
• What ATP is and how it carries energy in cells
• How to do investigations that show photosynthesis is happening

What you should already know:

• Cell structure, especially chloroplasts (Grade 10)
• Basic chemistry of life, including enzymes (Grade 10)
• How energy flows through ecosystems (Grade 10)
• Plant structure and classification (Term 1)

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