Video narration
Does a plant get its food from the soil? Look at a green plant in sunlight. The soil supplies water and minerals, but it does not hand the leaf ready-made food. The green leaf makes that food itself. It uses water from the roots and carbon dioxide from the air to form glucose, a simple sugar. This process is called photosynthesis. Sunlight supplies the energy, while chlorophyll, the green pigment in the leaf, captures that light. Glucose supports growth and can be stored as starch. Oxygen is released into the air as a by-product. The standard overall equation is: 6CO₂ + 6H₂O → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂, in the presence of sunlight and chlorophyll. So, no—the plant does not get its food from the soil. Its chlorophyll-containing leaves use sunlight to combine water and carbon dioxide, make glucose, and release oxygen.