Video narration
Does a houseplant get its food from the soil? On a sunny windowsill, it looks as if it is simply taking in whatever it needs. But soil mainly provides water and minerals. The real food-making happens in the leaves. Sunlight isn't food. It's energy-the power running a tiny kitchen inside the plant. Water travels up from the roots. Carbon dioxide, a gas in the air, enters through the leaves. Here's the turn: the plant isn't eating sunlight. It uses light energy to combine water and carbon dioxide into sugar. That sugar fuels growth and serves as the plant's food. Oxygen is released back into the air. So what is photosynthesis? It is the process that lets a plant use light, water, and carbon dioxide to make sugar and release oxygen. So no: the houseplant doesn't get food from the soil. It's a self-powered food-maker.