In which process do producers convert sunlight into chemical energy?

Producers convert sunlight into chemical energy through the process of photosynthesis. This is a fundamental biological process that occurs primarily in plants, algae, and some bacteria. During photosynthesis, these organisms capture sunlight using chlorophyll, the green pigment in their cells, and use it to convert carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and water from the soil into glucose and oxygen. The glucose produced serves as an energy source for the plant itself and as a building block for growth. The overall chemical reaction can be summarized as carbon dioxide and water, in the presence of sunlight, being transformed into glucose and oxygen.

This process is crucial because it is the foundation of the food chain; it provides the initial energy source for all other organisms, known as consumers or heterotrophs, which rely on producers for their energy. While the other processes listed, like cellular respiration and fermentation, relate to how organisms extract energy from food, they do not involve the conversion of sunlight into chemical energy. Decomposition, on the other hand, involves breaking down dead organic material and does not directly utilize sunlight for energy conversion.