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# photosynthesis

«photosynthesis» in Mova's school dictionary: **the way green plants make their own food using sunlight…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (photosynthesis)

### meaning for a pupil

Photosynthesis is the way green plants make their own food using sunlight, water and carbon dioxide from the air, giving out oxygen. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/photosynthesis/#m1)

### sense in the lessons

In science lessons pupils learn the simple word equation: carbon dioxide + water → (with light, in chlorophyll) → glucose (sugar) + oxygen. It happens mainly in the leaves, in the green chlorophyll. Photosynthesis feeds almost all food chains and gives us the oxygen we breathe. A plant kept in the dark cannot photosynthesise and grows pale and weak. Phrases: plants carry out photosynthesis, needed for photosynthesis.

### examples

- Plants make food by photosynthesis. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/photosynthesis/#x1)
- Photosynthesis needs sunlight, water and carbon dioxide. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/photosynthesis/#x2)
- Leaves are green because of chlorophyll, which traps light for photosynthesis. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/photosynthesis/#x3)
- Photosynthesis gives out oxygen. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/photosynthesis/#x4)
- A plant in a dark cupboard cannot carry out photosynthesis. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/photosynthesis/#x5)
- Almost all food chains start with photosynthesis. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/photosynthesis/#x6)

### note

Uncountable noun. «Photo» = light, «synthesis» = putting together. Verb: photosynthesise (UK) / photosynthesize (US). Myth: plants get their food from the soil — the soil gives water and minerals, but the plant's food (sugar) is made from air and water using light.

### In the corpora

- [This is called photosynthesis.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/251-plants-deeper-leaves-and-sunlight-how-a-tree-is-made-of-air/2/)
- [Leaves use sunlight to turn water and carbon dioxide from the air into sugar for food; this is called photosynthesis.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/251-plants-deeper-leaves-and-sunlight-how-a-tree-is-made-of-air/8/)
- [Plants make their own food in a process called photosynthesis, which means "putting together with light".](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/22-photosynthesis/0/)
- [Photosynthesis is how green plants make their own food.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/22-photosynthesis/5/)
- [Photosynthesis gives out oxygen into the air.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/22-photosynthesis/11/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «photosynthesis» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/photosynthesis/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.