Like all living things plants need food in order to survive. But, unlike most, plants can make their own food. Plants use sunlight to create their own food through a process called photosynthesis, which means building with light. Photosynthesis = building with light

This diagram gives a quick overview of how photosynthesis works. Leaves contain something called chlorophyll, which absorbs light energy from the sun. This energy is used by the plant to combine carbon dioxide, which the leaf absorbs from the air, with water taken from the soil. This process creates sugar and oxygen. The sugar provides the energy for the plant to live and grow, and the oxygen is released by the leaf into the air.