The general equation for photosynthesis is commonly written as: 6 CO2 + 6 H2O

• light energy → C6H12O6 + 6 O2 directly addressing the core query. Here’s a concise breakdown:

  • Reactants: carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O)
  • Energy input: light energy, captured by chlorophyll
  • Products: glucose (C6H12O6) and oxygen (O2)

Notes and common variations:

• Some presentations emphasize the role of light-dependent and light-independent (calvin cycle) reactions, where light reactions generate ATP and NADPH used to drive the synthesis of glucose from CO2.
• In plant biology, the same overall equation can be shown in a balanced form, and sometimes you’ll see the water molecules explicitly listed as both reactants and products within the multi-step process (the net equation eliminates intermediate water changes).

If you’d like, I can also provide the word equation version or explain how this equation is partitioned into the light-dependent and light-independent stages.