Basic Ingredients

• The overall chemical equation for photosynthesis is 6 CO2 + 6 H2O + sunlight --> C6H12O6 + 6 O2. As you can see from this equation, photosynthesis requires three key ingredients to take place: carbon dioxide, water and sunlight.
  
  

Sources

• Water is abundant on Earth's surface, so plants can absorb it through their roots. Plants take up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and receive light from the sun, so all three primary ingredients are plentiful in most environments. In places where one of these three ingredients is absent--in dark caves or deserts, for example--plants will not thrive.
  
  

Considerations

• The net chemical equation for photosynthesis is deceptively simple. Photosynthesis is a complex process involving a chain of steps that convert the energy in photons of light into chemical energy. Various enzymes, pigment molecules and electron carriers are required for this process. To synthesize these enzymes and pigments, plants need other ingredients like nitrogen, phosphorus and magnesium. Plants obtain these secondary nutrients by extracting them from the soil through their roots.