The oxygen evolved during photosynthesis comes from splitting of

The oxygen evolved during photosynthesis comes from splitting of

water
carbon dioxide
oxygen
light
This question was previously asked in
UPSC NDA-2 – 2018
During photosynthesis, the oxygen gas evolved as a byproduct comes from the splitting of water molecules (photolysis).
– The overall equation for photosynthesis is 6CO₂ + 6H₂O + Light Energy → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂.
– Experiments using isotopic tracing (specifically, using water labeled with the heavy oxygen isotope ¹⁸O) demonstrated that the ¹⁸O appeared in the evolved oxygen gas, while using carbon dioxide labeled with ¹⁸O resulted in the ¹⁸O appearing in the glucose product, not the oxygen gas.
Water splitting occurs during the light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis, providing electrons for the electron transport chain, protons for the proton gradient used in ATP synthesis, and oxygen as a waste product. The oxygen atoms in glucose are derived from carbon dioxide.