What process involves converting nutrients, water, carbon dioxide, and sunlight into food?

The correct choice is photosynthesis, which is the essential biological process used by plants, algae, and some bacteria to convert light energy into chemical energy in the form of glucose. During photosynthesis, plants take in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and water from the soil. When chlorophyll, the green pigment in plants, absorbs sunlight, it catalyzes a series of reactions that convert these raw materials into glucose and oxygen. The glucose serves as food for the plant, while oxygen is released as a byproduct into the atmosphere.

This process is primarily responsible for providing the energy that supports the vast majority of life on Earth, as it forms the base of the food chain. The ability of plants to use sunlight to produce their own food is what makes them autotrophic organisms, in contrast to heterotrophic organisms that rely on consuming other organisms for their energy and nutrients.

While metabolism refers to all the biochemical reactions occurring in an organism, including those involved in energy production and consumption, it does not specifically address the conversion of sunlight into food. Respiration is the process by which organisms convert glucose and oxygen into energy, carbon dioxide, and water, typically functioning as the reverse operation of photosynthesis. Transpiration is the process of water movement through a