The leaves of this plant have cells that carry out photosynthesis.  
During photosynthesis, plants capture the energy from sunlight
and use it, along with water and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere,
to produce carbohydrates, or sugars.  Oxygen is also released as a byproduct.
These photosynthetic reactions are typically written as a chemical formula:
Solar energy + 6 carbon dioxide molecules, plus 6 water molecules, 
react to produce one glucose molecule, and six molecules of oxygen.
To better understand the reactions of photosynthesis, let’s rewind a bit and 
take a closer look at this plant. 
If we zoom in on this photosynthetic plant cell, we can see the chloroplasts,
where the reactions of photosynthesis occur.
Let’s zoom in on this chloroplast to get a closer look.
Photosynthesis consists of two primary steps:
the light reactions and the Calvin cycle reactions.
Both steps occur within the chloroplast.
The light reactions occur within the thylakoid of the chloroplast. 
Here, special pigments absorb light energy 
and transfer it to high energy electrons, 
which ultimately produce the electron carriers ATP and NADPH.
Water is also split to replace the high energy electrons, 
releasing oxygen gas as a by product.
The Calvin cycle reactions, commonly called the “dark reactions”
or the “light-independent reactions”  occur within the stroma of the chloroplast. 
Here, a series of reactions use the ATP
and NADPH produced by the light reactions to 
turn carbon dioxide into carbohydrates.
The NADP+ and ADP that were also produced by the Calvin cycle reactions 
are then recycled-
to be used by the next set of light reactions. 
Now that you understand a little about light reactions and Calvin cycle reactions, 
let’s zoom back out and do a quick review.
During photosynthesis, energy from the sunlight and use it along with water
and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
to produce carbohydrates (or "sugars").
Oxygen is released as a byproduct. 
These photosynthetic reactions are typically written as a chemical formula:
Solar energy + 6 carbon dioxide molecules, plus 6 water molecules,
react to produce one glucose molecule, and six molecules of oxygen.
