Environmental Literacy Project
Michigan State University
Plants Lesson 2, Activity 2:
Using Molecular Models to Explain
Photosynthesis
Answering the Three Questions for
plants in the light
The Movement Question
Where are atoms
moving from?
Where are atoms
moving to?
Which atoms and molecules move so that
plants can do photosynthesis?
water
carbon dioxide
glucose
oxygen
How do glucose water, carbon dioxide and
oxygen move for a plant leaf to photosynthesize?
water
carbon dioxide
glucose
oxygen
Plants make glucose from
carbon dioxide and water in their leaves.
What happens inside the leaf cell
as it photosynthesizes?
Chemical
change
What is Photosynthesis?
• Photosynthesis is the
secret of plant growth.
• Plants do
photosynthesis so they
can grow (gain
biomass).
The Carbon Question: What is
happening to carbon atoms?
What molecules are carbon atoms in
before photosynthesis?
How are the atoms rearranged into new
molecules during photosynthesis?
The Energy Question: What is
happening to energy?
What forms of energy are involved in
photosynthesis?
How is energy changing from one form
to another during photosynthesis?
Photosynthesis happens when light
energy from the sun, carbon
dioxide, and water are used to
make sugar and oxygen.
(the sugar is then used to build the
plant’s mass; the O2 is released as
waste)
Using your poster and modeling
kits, make a model of how matter
and energy are transformed during
photosynthesis.
Rules of Molecular Bonding Reminder:
• Atoms in stable molecules always have a certain
number of bonds to other atoms:
– Carbon: 4 bonds
– Oxygen: 2 bonds
– Hydrogen: 1 bond
• This means that if you have a carbon atom, for
example, all 4 of its “prongs” should be attached
to other atoms. There should not be empty
prongs.
• Oxygen atoms do NOT bond to other oxygen
atoms if they can bond to carbon or hydrogen
instead.
Making the Reactant Molecules: Carbon
Dioxide and Water
Photosynthesis occurs when plants combine carbon dioxide (CO2) and water
(H2O) to produce glucose (C6H12O6) and oxygen (O2). Show how this can
happen:
1. Get the atoms you will need to make your molecules. Can you figure out
from the formula for sugar how many C, H, and O atoms you will need?
a. You will need 6 carbon atoms to make one sugar molecule. How many CO2
molecules will you need to make for the reactants?
b. You will need 12 hydrogen atoms to make one sugar molecule. How many
H2O molecules will you need to make for the reactants?
2.
3.
4.
Use the bonds to make models of carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O).
Remember that CO2 has double bonds.
There are no high-energy bonds (C-C and C-H) in carbon dioxide or
water. Add 12 twist ties to the reactant side of your poster to represent
light energy. Add a light energy card.
Compare your molecules to the pictures on the next slide. Are they the
same?
Photo of reactant molecules: CO2 (carbon dioxide) and H2O (water)
Start by making the molecules of the reactants and energy units of light. Put them on the
reactants side, then rearrange the atoms and energy units to show the products.
Carbon dioxide
Reactants
Water
Chemical
change
Products
Remember: Atoms last forever (so you can rearrange atoms into new molecules, but can’t add or
subtract atoms). Energy lasts forever (so you can change forms of energy, but energy units can’t
appear or go away).
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When you’re done, what will it look
like? Arrange your atoms so that the
water and carbon dioxide are
transformed to glucose and oxygen.
Making the Product Molecules:
Glucose and Oxygen
Photosynthesis occurs when carbon dioxide (CO2) and
water (H2O) react to produce glucose (C6H12O6) and
oxygen (O2). Show how this can happen:
1. Break the bonds in the reactant molecules and
recombine the atoms into sugar (C6H12O6) and oxygen
(O2). How many oxygen molecules can you make?
2. Identify the high-energy bonds (C-C and C-H) by
putting twist ties on them. How many high energy
bonds does a molecule of sugar have? Where does
the energy for those bonds come from?
3. Compare your molecules to the pictures on the next
slide. Are they the same?
Photo of product molecules: H6C12O6 (sugar) and O2 (oxygen)
Start by making the molecules and energy units of the reactants and putting them on the
reactants side, then rearrange the atoms and energy units to show the products.
.
Glucose
Chemical
change
Oxygen
Reactants
Products
Remember: Atoms last forever (so you can rearrange atoms into new molecules, but can’t add or
subtract atoms). Energy lasts forever (so you can change forms of energy, but energy units can’t
appear or go away).
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Comparing photos of reactant and product molecules
Compare the atoms and energy units on the reactant and products sides.
.
Glucose
Carbon dioxide
Water
Chemical
change
Oxygen
Reactants
Products
Remember: Atoms last forever (so you can rearrange atoms into new molecules, but can’t add or
subtract atoms). Energy lasts forever (so you can change forms of energy, but energy units can’t
appear or go away).
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What happens
to atoms and energy
in photosynthesis?
Carbon Dioxide
Glucose
Reactants
Chemical change
Water
Products
Light energy
Oxygen
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What happens
to carbon atoms
in photosynthesis?
Carbon Dioxide
Glucose
Reactants
Chemical change
Water
Products
Light energy
Carbon atoms in
carbon dioxide
become part of
glucose molecules.
Oxygen
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What happens to oxygen
and hydrogen atoms in
photosynthesis?
Carbon Dioxide
Glucose
Reactants
Chemical change
Water
Products
Light energy
Oxygen and hydrogen
atoms become part of
glucose and oxygen gas
molecules.
Oxygen
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What happens
to light energy
in photosynthesis?
Carbon Dioxide
Glucose
Reactants
Chemical change
Water
Products
Light energy
Light energy is
transformed into
chemical energy.
Oxygen
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What happens
to atoms and energy
in photosynthesis?
Carbon Dioxide
Glucose
Reactants
Chemical change
Water
Products
Light energy
Atoms last forever!
Energy lasts
forever!
Oxygen
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Writing a Chemical Equation
• Writing in symbols: Chemists use an arrow to show how
reactants change into products:
[reactant molecule formulas]  [product molecule formulas]
• Saying in words: Chemists read the arrow as “yield” or
“yields”:
[reactant molecule names] yield(s) [product molecule names]
• Equations must be balanced: Atoms last forever, so reactant
and product molecules must have the same number of each
kind of atom.
• Try it: can you write a balanced chemical equation to show
the chemical change for photosynthesis?
Chemical Equation for
Photosynthesis
6H2O + 6CO2  C6H12O6 + 6O2
(in words: water and carbon
dioxide yield glucose and
oxygen)
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How can we answer the Carbon Question
and the Energy Questions now?
The Carbon Question: What is
happening to carbon atoms?
What molecules are carbon atoms in
before photosynthesis?
How are the atoms rearranged into new
molecules during photosynthesis?
The Energy Question: What is
happening to chemical energy?
What forms of energy are involved in
photosynthesis?
How is energy changing from one form
to another during photosynthesis?
The Carbon and Energy Questions
• Carbon: carbon atoms
move from CO2
molecules in the air
(inorganic) to C6H12O6
molecules in the plant
(organic).
• Energy: energy is
transformed from light
energy into chemical
energy in the highenergy (C-C and C-H)
bonds of the glucose
molecule.
The Three Questions for plants in the light
Where are atoms moving from?
Where are atoms moving to?
Chemical
change
What molecules are carbon atoms in
before the change?
What other molecules are involved?
What molecules are carbon atoms in after
the change?
What other molecules are produced?
What forms of energy are in the
What forms of energy are in the
reactants?
products?
Remember: Atoms last forever and Energy lasts forever
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