What process describes the conversion of solar energy into chemical energy?

The conversion of solar energy into chemical energy is best described by photosynthesis. During this process, plants, algae, and some bacteria capture sunlight using chlorophyll and utilize it to transform carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen. The glucose produced serves as a form of stored chemical energy that organisms can use for growth, reproduction, and maintenance of their metabolic processes.

Photosynthesis primarily occurs in the chloroplasts of plant cells, where light energy is harnessed during the light-dependent reactions and is subsequently used in the Calvin cycle to produce glucose. This transformation from solar energy to a stable chemical form makes it a fundamental process for life on Earth, as it forms the basis of the food chain.

The other choices represent different biological processes. Respiration involves the breakdown of glucose to release energy, fermentation is an anaerobic process that also breaks down glucose, and evaporation refers to the transition of water from liquid to gas, which does not involve the conversion of solar energy into a chemical form.