Light and Carbon Reactions
Incorporating carbon from an inorganic source like carbon dioxide into organic compounds like glucose is called carbon fixation, and that is an extremely important function of photosynthesis. Carbon fixation results in products (organic compounds) that contain more chemical energy than the reactants (carbon dioxide molecules). Doing so requires an input of energy. The input of energy for the carbon fixation that occurs during photosynthesis is energy in the form of sunlight. Powered by that light energy, water molecules are split into oxygen and hydrogen atoms, and the hydrogen atoms from the water end up bonded to carbon atoms from carbon dioxide molecules to form high-energy carbohydrates. This occurs in two major pathways that comprise photosynthesis. Notice that the speaker explains why he also calls light-independent reactions
- Video 1: Photosynthesis 14 Overview
- Video 2: Light Reactions
- Video 3: Carbon Reactions
Source: Ted Wong, https://youtu.be/3SQ4WYv_TbI, https://youtu.be/MklTj1oJo5M, https://youtu.be/F9eVniUFhtQ
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