BIOLOGY
by Miller & Levine
[complete Table of Contents]

Use the pull-down menu to jump to any of the Book's 40 Chapters: Chapter Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3 Ch 4 Ch 5 Ch 6 Ch 7 Ch 8 Ch 9 Ch 10 Ch 11 Ch 12 Ch 13 Ch 14 Ch 15 Ch 16 Ch 17 Ch 18 Ch 19 Ch 20 Ch 21 Ch 22 Ch 23 Ch 24 Ch 25 Ch 26 Ch 27 Ch 28 Ch 29 Ch 30 Ch 31 Ch 32 Ch 33 Ch 34 Ch 35 Ch 36 Ch 37 Ch 38 Ch 39 Ch 40

Additional Resources:

Why Study Photosynthesis?
Because it's the most important biological process on earth, as this site explains.

An Introduction to Photosynthesis
A description of the process, from Arizona State University.

Using Photosynthesis in the Classroom
A useful guide for teachers from the Science Ed Standards.

Separating Photosynthetic Pigments
A lab exercise that enables your students to separate and study photosynthetic pigments.

Chapter 8
Photosynthesis

In this chapter, students will read about the process of photosynthesis, which captures the energy of sunlight to provide nearly all of the energy for life on Earth. They will read about the major steps in this process, and how it uses the energy of sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide gas into sugars that provide energy and structural material for the growth and development of living things.The links below lead to additional resources to help you with this chapter. These include Hot Links to Web sites related to the topics in this chapter, the Take It to the Net activities referred to in your textbook, a Self-Test you can use to test your knowledge of this chapter, and Teaching Links that instructors may find useful for their students.

What are Web Codes?

Web Codes for Chapter 8: Active Art: Photosynthesis Activity: ADP vs. ATP SciLinks: Calvin Cycle SciLinks: Photosynthesis Self-Test

Section 8-1: Energy and Life
Plants and some other types of organisms are able to use light energy from the sun to produce food.
The characteristics of ATP make it an exceptionally useful molecule that is used by all types of cells as their basic energy source.

Section 8-2: Photosynthesis: An Overview
The experiments performed by van Helmont, Priestley, Ingenhousz, and other scientists reveal that in the presence of light, plants transform carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates and release oxygen as a byproduct.
Photosynthesis uses the energy of sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and high-energy sugars.
In addition to water and carbon dioxide, photosynthesis requires light and chlorophyll, a molecule found in chloroplasts.

Section 8-3: The Reactions of Photosynthesis
The process of photosynthesis includes the light-dependent reactions as well as the Calvin cycle.
The light-dependent reactions produce oxygen gas and convert ADP and NADP+ into ATP and NADPH. The light-dependent reactions occur in different areas of the thylakoid, called photosystem I and photosystem II.
The Calvin cycle uses ATP and NADPH from the light-dependent reactions to produce high-energy sugars. The Calvin cycle is also known as the light-independent reactions.

Pictures by Photosynthesis

Flower Resources
(from a student at Monument Charter School)

Click Here for Science News articles on Cells

(Complete Index of Articles)