The word photosynthesis can be broken down into its two parts:

• photo meaning light
• synthesis meaning to make

So plants use light to make their own food (in the form of sugar).

The overall process of photosynthesis can be summarised by the word equation shown below.

In reality, photosynthesis consists of a series of chemical reactions, with each reaction being catalysed by a specific enzyme.

The reactions of photosynthesis can be divided into two separate stages that take place in different locations within the chloroplast.