3.5 Flashcards
What do organisms partake in to capture and store energy?
They take part in biological processes
What is photosythesis?
It’s the biological process that captures energy from the sun to produce sugars
What does evidence go to show regarding photosynthesis?
That the photosynthesis of organisms, such as cyanobacteria, was responsible for the presence of oxygen in the atmosphere
What is the foundation of eukaryotic photosynthesis?
Photosynthetic pathways
What do the light dependent reactions in eukaryotes follow in order to happen?
They follow a series of pathways (small sequential steps)
How do light dependent reactions capture light energy?
By using ligth absorbing molecules called pigments
What do pigments help do?
They help transform light energy into chemical energy
After pigments transform light energy into chemical energy, where is the chemical energy temporarily stored?
It’s temporarily stores in the chemical bonds of carrier molecules called NADPH
What do light dependent reactions help facilitate?
They help facilitate ATP synthesis
What do ATP and NADPH do in the Calvin cycle pathway?
They transfer stored chemical energy to be used in the synthesis of other organic molecules
Oxygen is also produced as a result of what?
Water hydrolosis
What are the products of photosynthesis?
ATP, NADPH, and oxygen
Which products are used in the Calvin Cycle?
ATP and NADPH (CO2 is used to but it’s from the atmosphere)
What are the pigments that create chemical energy from light energy?
Chlorophyll
How does chlorophyll transform light to energy?
They convert energy from light to high energy electrons (chlorophylls electrons become energized)
What does the chlorophylls energized electrons help in?
It helps create a proton gradient and reduces NADP+ to NADPH
Where are PSI and PSII embedded?
They are embedded in the thylakoids of the chloroplasts
What is a photosystem?
It’s a light capturing unit in the chloroplasts thylakoid membrane
Why is the hydrolosis of water important as it relates to PSII and the light dependent reactions?
The splitting of water releases hydrogen molecules which are released in the thylakoid space and are used to create an electrochemical/proton gradient
What happens to electrons that are transferred between molecules?
They pass through an electron transport chain
How are PSI and PSII functionally related to the electron transport chain?
PSI and PSII pass electrons to the electron transport chain
What is an electrochemical/proton gradient?
It is the difference between protons across a membrane (hydrogen in our case)
The formation of the proton gradient is linked to what?
The synthesis of ATP
What does happens in photosynthesis in order to trasnform ADP to ATP?
It uses a form of passive transport
What is ATP synthase
It’s an enzyme that produces ATP when protons pass through it
What does the energy captured from the light reactions generate?
It generates carbohydrates
What is the ultimate goal of the Calvin cycle?
To produce organic products that plants need (using the products of the light reactions & CO2)
Where do most organisms get CO2 from?
From their environment
