NEET BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Plants, algae, and a group of bacteria called cyanobacteria are the only organisms capable of performing photosynthesis. Because they use light to manufacture their own food, they are called photoautotrophs (“self-feeders using light”).

Detailed explanation-2: -Photosynthesis occurs in plants and some bacteria, wherever there is sufficient sunlight, be it on land, in shallow water, or even inside and below clear ice. All photosynthetic organisms use solar energy to turn carbon dioxide and water into sugar (food) and oxygen: CO2 + 6H2O-> C6H12O6 + 6O2.

Detailed explanation-3: -Most life on Earth depends on photosynthesis. The process is carried out by plants, algae, and some types of bacteria, which capture energy from sunlight to produce oxygen (O2) and chemical energy stored in glucose (a sugar).

Detailed explanation-4: -In plants and algae, which developed much later, photosynthesis occurs in a specialized intracellular organelle-the chloroplast. Chloroplasts perform photosynthesis during the daylight hours. The immediate products of photosynthesis, NADPH and ATP, are used by the photosynthetic cells to produce many organic molecules.

Detailed explanation-5: -Only cells with chloroplasts-plant cells and algal (protist) cells-can perform photosynthesis. Animal cells and fungal cells do not have chloroplasts and, therefore, cannot photosynthesize. That is why these organisms, as well as the non-photosynthetic protists, rely on other organisms to obtain their energy.