Photosynthesis: the balanced equation and where the energy goes
Grade 9 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.
Read this first
Use this
Flow diagram (model, not to scale), drawn inside the chloroplast. Inputs in boxes on the left: 6CO₂; 6H₂O. Outputs in boxes on the right: C₆H₁₂O₆; 6O₂. A wavy arrow points into the reaction: light energy.
Ari reads 6CO₂ in the flow diagram. What does the 6 in front of CO₂ tell Ari?
- 6 grams of carbon dioxide
- 6 molecules of carbon dioxide
- 6 carbon atoms in one CO₂ molecule
- 6 oxygen atoms in one CO₂ molecule
Bo sees light energy on the left side of the photosynthesis equation. What kind of part is light energy?
- An input: matter that adds atoms to glucose
- An output: energy that the reaction releases
- An output: energy that leaves as oxygen gas
- An input: energy that goes in and is stored
Use this
Flow diagram (model, not to scale), drawn inside the chloroplast. Inputs in boxes on the left: carbon dioxide; water. Outputs in boxes on the right: glucose; oxygen gas. A wavy arrow points into the reaction: light energy. Arrow X runs from the water box to the oxygen gas box. Arrow Y runs from the carbon dioxide box to the oxygen gas box.
Esme follows the oxygen gas released by a leaf. Which arrow shows where that oxygen comes from?
- Arrow Y, from the carbon dioxide: CO₂ gives up its oxygen
- Arrow X reversed, from the oxygen gas to the water
- Neither arrow: the leaf takes oxygen in from the air
- Arrow X, from the water: splitting water frees oxygen
Use this
Flow diagram (model, not to scale), drawn inside the chloroplast. Inputs in boxes on the left: 6CO₂; 6H₂O. Outputs in boxes on the right: C₆H₁₂O₆; 6O₂. A wavy arrow points into the reaction: light energy.
The 6H₂O on the left holds 12 hydrogen atoms. Luz counts hydrogen atoms in C₆H₁₂O₆ and 6O₂ on the right. How many are there?
- 24 hydrogen atoms, since O₂ adds 12 more
- 0 hydrogen atoms, since hydrogen is used up
- 12 hydrogen atoms, all in the glucose
- 6 hydrogen atoms, since half are lost
Use this
Flow diagram (model, not to scale), drawn inside the leaf. Inputs in boxes on the left: carbon dioxide, which enters through the openings marked S; water, from the roots. Outputs in boxes on the right: glucose; oxygen gas, which leaves through the openings marked S. S marks tiny openings on the underside of the leaf.
Milo reads that gas moves through stomata in the leaf diagram. Which phrase tells what stomata are?
- Small openings in a leaf that take in soil to build sugar
- The leaf layer where sugar is made
- Small openings in a leaf for gas exchange
- Cell parts that absorb light for the leaf
Flow diagram (model, not to scale), drawn inside the leaf cell. Inputs in boxes on the left: 6CO₂; 6H₂O. Outputs in boxes on the right: C₆H₁₂O₆; 6O₂. A wavy arrow points into the reaction: light energy. Flow diagram (model, not to scale), drawn inside the leaf cell. Inputs in boxes on the left: 6CO₂; 6H₂O. Outputs in boxes on the right: C₆H₁₂O₆; 6O₂. A wavy arrow points into the reaction: light energy. leaf cell 6CO₂ 6H₂O chloroplast photosynthesis C₆H₁₂O₆ 6O₂ light energy model, not to scale Noah reads that plant cells carry out photosynthesis in chloroplasts. Which phrase tells what a chloroplast is?
- A leaf opening that lets gases in and out
- A cell part that turns carbon dioxide into oxygen gas
- A cell part that carries out photosynthesis
- A cell part that breaks glucose down to make ATP
Pia reads that plants are photoautotrophs. Which phrase tells what a photoautotroph is?
Use the picture in question 6.
- An organism that builds its body from soil it takes in
- An organism that gets energy from inorganic chemicals
- An organism that makes its own food using light
- An organism that relies on sugars made by other organisms
Use this
Flow diagram (model, not to scale), drawn inside the chloroplast. Inputs in boxes on the left: 6CO₂; 6H₂O. Outputs in boxes on the right: C₆H₁₂O₆; 6O₂. Letter D marks a wavy arrow touching the reaction; its label is blank.
Ren reads a flow diagram of photosynthesis with a blank wavy arrow D touching the reaction. Which label fits D?
- Light energy in: taken in and stored in the glucose bonds
- Energy out: released as the glucose forms
- Light energy in: it becomes the atoms of the glucose
- No energy moves: CO₂ and glucose hold equal energy
Flow diagram (model, not to scale), drawn inside the chloroplast. Tala counts carbon atoms in a flow diagram. Box H gives the number of carbon atoms in the glucose made. What number goes in H?
Flow diagram (model, not to scale), drawn inside the chloroplast. Inputs in boxes on the left: 6CO₂, which hold 6 carbon atoms; 6H₂O. Outputs in boxes on the right: C₆H₁₂O₆, which holds H carbon atoms; 6O₂. A wavy arrow points into the reaction: light energy. Flow diagram (model, not to scale), drawn inside the chloroplast. Inputs in boxes on the left: 6CO₂, which hold 6 carbon atoms; 6H₂O. Outputs in boxes on the right: C₆H₁₂O₆, which holds H carbon atoms; 6O₂. A wavy arrow points into the reaction: light energy. chloroplast Inputs 6CO₂ 6 carbon atoms 6H₂O reaction light energy Outputs C₆H₁₂O₆ H carbon atoms 6O₂ - 6 carbon atoms, matching the 6 in the CO₂
- 0 carbon atoms, since carbon is used up
- 12 carbon atoms, since the reaction makes more
- 1 carbon atom, since there is one glucose
Use this
Flow diagram (model, not to scale), drawn inside the chloroplast. Inputs in boxes on the left: 6CO₂; 6H₂O. Outputs in boxes on the right: C₆H₁₂O₆; 6O₂. A wavy arrow points into the reaction: light energy.
Zee reads that light energy goes into photosynthesis. Where does that energy end up afterward?
- Stored in the bonds of the glucose
- Added to the glucose as extra atoms of light
- Gone, since light cannot be kept
- Carried away by the oxygen gas