The term photosynthesis is a combination of two words. Photo and synthesis. A synthesis (cooking (for non-science readers) using photo (Nah! It's not camera photo). Photo here refers to sun light or solar radiations. The term photosynthesis in plants is the method of synthesizing food by the plant. The next query in an inquisitive mind perhaps would be where does this photosynthesis happen? There is kitchen in a green leaf of a plant, which cooks food for the plant using carbon dioxide from the air and water from the soil, as groceries and sunlight as fuel to provide food (its 100% vegetarian) to the plant so that it can grow, bear flowers and fruits. The food that is cooked is nothing but the sugar. While doing so, the leaf return oxygen to the nature as gift to us. WHERE IS THE KITCHEN IN A LEAF? To answer this, first we need to understand the structure of a leaf. To our vision, a leaf has an upper glossy surface and a lower dull surface with a mid-rib that is connected to tiny little veins. Some thing we can see as below When we see through a huge microscope, we could look deep into the internal structure but for now let us understand and peep into the leaf's kitchen. The top part (glossy) and the bottom part of the leaf forms the cuticle layers and the rest of the leaf's internal structure lies in between these two layers. The internal structure therefore has following layers dedicated to specific functions. 1. Upper Cuticle: The glossy surface of the top layer on which the sunlight falls and absorbed. 2. Upper Epidermis: The layer beneath the top cuticle prevents water loss. 3. Palisade mesophyll / paranchyma layer: This is the third and the most important layer of cells WHERE WE CAN FIND THE KITCHENS. The name of the kitchen in CHLOROPLASTS. (For the young inquisitive minds) CHLOTOPLASTS: THE KITCHENS PALISADE MESOPHYLL: THE FOOD COURT OF A LEAF 4. Spongy mesophyll layer: the layer also contain chloroplasts along with xylem and phloem responsible for supply of water and nutrients and delivering food to the plant. 5. Lower epidermis layer 6. Bottom cuticle layer: containing stoma (the organelle or the gate) that allow the gas diffusion into and outside the leaf. How the food is cooked in the leaf's kitchen? Now, as we know a leaf is made up of few layers as shown above and each layer of the leaf participate in the necessary function for photosynthesis, a process by which the food (glucose or sugar) for the plant is cooked by the leaves using carbon dioxide, water and sunlight.