Question

What was Cornelius Van Niel's study about photosynthesis based on?

Answer 1

1. Microbiologist Cornelius van Niel discovered that hydrogen released from oxidizable compounds reduces carbon dioxide to carbohydrates.
2. The oxygen released by green plants comes from water, not carbon dioxide. This observation was made with purple and green bacteria.
3. Photosynthesis takes place in the green leaves of the plant and other green parts (stems) of the plant. The most active site of photosynthesis in higher plants is leaf mesophyll, and chloroplast cells have a large number of chloroplasts rich in special light-absorbing green pigments called chloroplasts.
4. This is an experiment to deepen our understanding of photosynthesis. This hypothesis was later proved using radioisotope technology.

2H₂A + CO₂→ 2A + CH₂O + H₂O
Here, H₂A is an oxidizable compound (H₂O and H₂S).

The correct equation for the photosynthetic process is:
6CO₂ + 12H₂O → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6H₂O + 6CO₂
Here, C₆H₁₂O₆ is glucose, and O₂ is released from water.