Carbon Dioxide: Is It Necessary

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One of the main materials used in photosynthesis is carbon dioxide. A carbon dioxide molecule is composed of one atom of carbon and two atoms of oxygen. Carbon dioxide is also the source of almost all carbon used by living things(Encyclopedia Americana, Volume 5, 1992).

Carbon dioxide along with water is used as a raw material to produce oxygen and organic compounds such as glucose and starch in a complex chemical process called photosynthesis, the plants food making process(Encyclopedia Americana, Vol.

17, 1993). Carbohydrate molecules that are not immediately used can be stored in the form, which are insoluble in water(Kimball, 1982). This material is stored as granules in the cells of the leaf. By synthesizing starch the plant can stockpile it's sugar. The sugar can later be withdrawn by hydrolysis, which is a process that separates the individual units from one another. The presence of starch and these many processes in the leaf is indirect evidence that photosynthesis has occurred(Campbell, 1990).

The rate of photosynthesis reaction can be decreased by lack of raw materials or excess products. Actual sunlight and outdoor- like temperatures are essential for photosynthesis, but a low concentration of the raw material carbon dioxide very often limits the rate, inhibiting starch and glucose production(Arms et al., 1982) BIBLIOGRAPHY Arms, Karen and Pamela S. Camp. 1982. Biology. Saunders College Publishing Co. Inc. New York. 942 pages.

Campbell, Neil A. 1990. Biology. Benjamine-Cummings Publishing Co. Inc. New York. 1165 pages.

Editor. 1992. Encyclopedia Americana. Volume 5. Grolier Inc. Danbury. PP. 624-625.

Editor. 1993. Encyclopedia Americana. Volume 17. Grolier Inc. Danbury. P. 106.

Editor. 1993. Encyclopedia Americana. Volume 18. Grolier Inc. Danbury. PP. 748-755.

Goodman, Harvey D. 1991. Biology Today. Holt, Rhinehart, and Winston, Inc. Dallas. 990 pages.

Johnson, Leland G. 1982.