Discover how plants make their own food using sunlight and water.
Unlike animals, plants can make their own food through a remarkable process called photosynthesis. Plants use three key ingredients: sunlight, water absorbed through their roots, and carbon dioxide from the air (taken in through tiny holes in leaves called stomata). Inside leaves are cells containing chlorophyll โ the green pigment that captures light energy. The plant uses this energy to convert water and carbon dioxide into glucose (a type of sugar) and oxygen. The plant uses the glucose for energy to grow, flower and reproduce. The oxygen is released into the air โ which is lucky for us, because that’s what we breathe! Without photosynthesis, life on Earth as we know it would be impossible. Plants form the very base of almost every food chain.