The diagram given below represents an experiment to prove the importance of a factor in photosynthesis. Answer the questions that follow: The diagram given below represents an experiment to prove the importance of a factor in photosynthesis. Answer the questions that follow:
Write a well balanced chemical equation for the process of photosynthesis.
Topic: Equation for photosynthesis
Answer
6CO₂ + 12H₂O → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6H₂O + 6O₂↑
(in the presence of SUNLIGHT and CHLOROPHYLL, written above and below the arrow)
The question says WELL BALANCED, so check the atoms on both sides.
SUNLIGHT and CHLOROPHYLL are CONDITIONS, not reactants — write them on the arrow, never on the left-hand side. Mark the ↑ after O₂ to show a gas is released.
WHY 12 WATER AND NOT 6: the simpler form balances arithmetically but is chemically misleading. Twelve molecules are split during PHOTOLYSIS and six are re-formed in the dark reaction, which is why water appears on BOTH sides. It also shows that the oxygen released comes from WATER, not from carbon dioxide — proved with oxygen-18 tracers.