Simplified chemical equation for photosynthesis?

• A. C6H12O6 → 6 CO2 + 6 H2O + energy.
• B. 6 O2 + C6H12O6 → 6 CO2 + 6 H2O.
• C. 6 CO2 + 6 H2O + light energy → C6H12O6 + 6 O2.
• D. CO2 + H2O → CH4 + O2.

Answer: (C)

Photosynthesis uses light energy to build sugar from carbon dioxide and water. The overall, simplified equation shows six carbon dioxide and six water molecules combining with light energy to produce one molecule of glucose and six molecules of oxygen. The light energy is what drives the reaction, not consumed as a normal reactant, and water is split to release oxygen gas in the process. The glucose stores chemical energy that the plant can use later.

This form captures the essence: carbon dioxide and water plus light become glucose and oxygen. The other shown reactions either depict the opposite, such as breaking glucose down into CO2 and water (which is cellular respiration), or involve reactions that aren’t part of photosynthesis (like forming methane), so they don’t represent how plants convert light energy into chemical energy.