Which process uses sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to produce glucose in plants?

Which process uses sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to produce glucose in plants?

• A. Metabolism
• B. Photosynthesis
• C. Respiration
• D. Fermentation

Answer: (B)

Plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to build glucose in a process called photosynthesis. In the chloroplasts of plant cells, chlorophyll captures light energy and powers reactions that convert water into oxygen and transfer energy to carriers like ATP and NADPH. Those energy-rich molecules drive the Calvin cycle, which fixes carbon dioxide into a sugar molecule that eventually becomes glucose. The overall result is stored energy in glucose, with oxygen released as a byproduct. Metabolism is a broad term for all chemical processes in a living thing, not a single building step. Respiration breaks down glucose to release usable energy, using oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide and water. Fermentation is an anaerobic pathway that maximizes energy yield only in the absence of oxygen, producing various byproducts like lactic acid or ethanol. None of these pathways build glucose from light and carbon dioxide; the one that does is photosynthesis.

Plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to build glucose in a process called photosynthesis. In the chloroplasts of plant cells, chlorophyll captures light energy and powers reactions that convert water into oxygen and transfer energy to carriers like ATP and NADPH. Those energy-rich molecules drive the Calvin cycle, which fixes carbon dioxide into a sugar molecule that eventually becomes glucose. The overall result is stored energy in glucose, with oxygen released as a byproduct.

Metabolism is a broad term for all chemical processes in a living thing, not a single building step. Respiration breaks down glucose to release usable energy, using oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide and water. Fermentation is an anaerobic pathway that maximizes energy yield only in the absence of oxygen, producing various byproducts like lactic acid or ethanol. None of these pathways build glucose from light and carbon dioxide; the one that does is photosynthesis.