NSES Content Standard C  Life Science: The cell Grades 9-12, page 184 Plant cells contain chloroplasts, the site of photosynthesis. Plants and many microorganisms use solar energy to combine molecules of carbon dioxide and water into complex, energy rich organic compounds and release oxygen to the environment. This process of photosynthesis provides a vital connection between the sun and the energy needs of living systems.

 
Benchmark 5E The Living Environment: Flow of Matter and Energy
Grades 6-8, page 120
Food provides the molecules that serve as fuel and building material for all organisms. Plants use the energy from light to make sugars from carbon dioxide and water. This food can be used immediately or stored for later use. Organisms that eat plants break down the plant structures to produce the materials and energy they need to survive. Then they are consumed by other organisms.

Benchmark 5E The Living Environment: Flow of Matter and Energy
Grades 6-8, page 120
Energy can change from one form to another in living things. Animals get energy from oxidizing their food, releasing some of its energy as heat. Almost all food energy comes originally from sunlight.

Benchmark 5E The Living Environment: Flow of Matter and Energy
Grades 9-12, page 121
The chemical elements that make up the molecules of living things pass through food webs and are combined and recombined in different ways. At each link in a food web, some energy is stored in newly made structures but much is dissipated into the environment as heat. Continual input of energy from sunlight keeps the process going.