Nutrition - Autotrophic Nutrition

The mode of nutrition in which organisms prepare their own food from simple inorganic substances like carbon dioxide and water using sunlight in the presence of chlorophyll is called autotrophic nutrition.

1. Autotrophic organisms like green plants synthesize their own food through photosynthesis using carbon dioxide, water, sunlight, and chlorophyll.
2. The process of photosynthesis involves absorption of light by chlorophyll, splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen, and conversion of carbon dioxide into carbohydrates.
3. The general equation of photosynthesis is: \[\ce{{6CO_2+12H_2O} ->[Chlorophyll][Sunlight] \underset{Glucose}{C6H12O6} + 6O2 +6H2O}\]
4. Carbon dioxide required for photosynthesis enters the plant through stomata, whose opening and closing is regulated by guard cells.
5. Along with water absorbed by roots, plants require minerals like nitrogen, phosphorus, iron, and magnesium from the soil for growth and synthesis of proteins and other compounds.