Final answer:
The Sun contributes to photosynthesis by providing plants with radiant energy, which is used to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen, with oxygen being released as a waste product.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Sun contributes to photosynthesis by providing plants with c) radiant energy. Photosynthesis is the process by which plants convert radiant energy from the sun into stored chemical energy. Solar energy is absorbed by molecules such as chlorophyll and used to transform carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen, with oxygen being released as a waste product.
Photosynthesis is essential to all life on earth; it is the only biological process that captures energy from sunlight and converts it into chemical compounds that organisms use to power their metabolism. This solar energy is stored in the covalent bonds of sugars, which are stable forms of stored energy. In essence, the energy of sunlight is captured to energize electrons, whose energy is then stored in sugar molecules.