• Plants utilize sunlight to create energy in a process called photosynthesis.plants image by Dave from Fotolia.com
  
  Photosynthesis is a process that takes place inside of the chlorophyll of plants and some algae. Chlorophyll is pigment that makes the leaves of plants green. The process of photosynthesis has two main parts and involves the conversion of sunlight into a usable form of energy.
  
  

Light Dependent

• The energy from sunlight is captured in the chlorophyll and other pigments and the energy is then transferred into ATP (adenosine triphosphate). ATP is a chemical used to store cellular energy and is required for the second part of photosynthesis.
  
  

Light Independent

• The light independent phase is the second part of photosynthesis and does not require light. It is also sometimes referred to as the dark phase. This process completed in this part of photosynthesis is called the Calvin Cycle. In the Calvin Cycle the ATP is used along with carbon dioxide or CO2 to form sugar.