Photosynthesis Sunlight maintains and increases the orderliness of life by two methods: (1) directly, in the process of photosynthesis, which produces complex organic compounds, and (2) indirectly, in the respiration of those organic compounds, either by the organism itself or when it is consumed by another organism. (263) The two categories under this heading are Photoautotrophs, and Heterotrophs. Autotrophs make their own food, while Heterotrophs rely on food sources outside of themselves. Photoautotrophs include all green plants, all …showed first 75 words of 578 total…

…showed last 75 words of 578 total…minerals enable plants to generate whatever they need inside themselves. Large biological molecules are altered in the cytoplasm to make larger, more complex molecules; consisting of anabolic reactions, therefore, this type of metabolism is called anabolism. A plant's photosynthesis depends on three important properties of light: quality, quantity, and duration. Quality refers to the colors or wavelengths of sunlight, quantity refers to light intensity, and duration is the hours per day of available sunlight. Photosynthesis