Illustration of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is a chemical reaction converting light energy into chemical energy. Sunlight (top right, yellow) drives a reaction between carbon dioxide (centre, orange arrow) and water molecules (bottom left, blue arrow) to produce glucose (top left, green arrow), with oxygen (bottom right, red arrow) typically being released as a waste product. Glucose can then be metabolised to provide cellular energy. Most plants, and some bacteria, acquire energy in this way. For a labelled version see: C059/0950.