Question

Oxygen is the waste product of photosynthesis. Justify giving a suitable reason.

Answer 1

The following is the reaction of photosynthesis-

6CO₂ + 6H₂O --------------------------> C₆H₁₂O6₆+ 6O₂

Sunlight energy

Photosynthesis is a process that uses the light energy to convert the raw materials such as the CO₂ and H₂O and convert it to carbohydrates.

Here the water acts as an oxygen donor.

The CO₂ gets reduced to form the carbohydrate and water gets oxidised to form oxygen.

Here, the oxygen is a waste material because it is not involved in the synthesis of the food material i.e the glucose. It is of no use to the plant thus a waste material.