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Asked by redxi07 to clairemarieroberts, Faye, Martin, Mus, Pete on 24 Apr 2012.
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Pete Etchells answered on 24 Apr 2012:
Hi redxi07, great question! Trees and plants convert carbon dioxide in the atmosphere into oxygen using a process called photosynthesis. They use energy from the sun to combine hydrogen from water to the the carbon dioxide in the air in order to make sugars, which they use as food to fuel their growth. So oxygen is really just a waste product of this process. But one that is really useful for us!
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Faye Didymus answered on 24 Apr 2012:
Yup, it’s down to photosynthesis. The word photosynthesis comes from Greek…photo- means “light”, and synthesis means “putting together”. Photosynthesis is the process by which plants and other organisms use energy from the sun to split water’s hydrogen from oxygen. Plants then use the hydrogen and combine it with carbon dioxide, which they get from air and water. The combination of hydrogen and carbon dioxide makes glucose (sugar), which the plants then use to grow taller. This process of combining hydrogen and carbon dioxide also gives off oxygen as a waste product! It sounds quite complicated but put simply, plants give us lots of oxygen by using evergy from the sun to grow!
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