5 Photosynthesis Flashcards
What does life depend on?
continuous transfers of energy
what is the site of photosynthesis?
The leaf is the main photosynthetic structure in eukaryotic plants.
Chloroplasts are the cellular organelles within the leaf where photosynthesis takes place.
what are the three raw materials of PS?
water
co2
light
what adaptations does the leaf have for PS?
- a large surface area that absorbs as much sunlight as possible
- an arrangement of leaves on the plant that minimises overlapping and so avoids the shadowing of one leaf by another
- thin, as most light is absorbed in the first few micrometres of the leaf and the diffusion distance for gases is kept short
- a transparent cuticle and epidermis that let light through to the photosynthetic mesophyll cells beneath
- long, narrow upper mesophyll cells packed with chloroplasts that collect sunlight
- numerous stomata for gaseous exchange so that all mesophyll cells are only a short diffusion pathway from one
- stomata that open and close in response to changes in light intensity
- many air spaces in the lower mesophyll layer to allow rapid diffusion in the gas phase of carbon dioxide and oxygen
- a network of xylem that brings water to the leaf cells, and phloem that carries away the sugars produced during photosynthesis.
overall equation for PS
6C02 + 6H20— light—> C6H12O6 + 602
carbon dioxide + water—> glucose + oxygen
what are the three main stages of PS?
capturing light energy
light dependent reaction
light independent reaction
chloroplast structure
They are surrounded by a double membrane. Inside
the chloroplast membranes are two distinct regions:
• The grana are stacks of up to 100 disc-like structures called thylakoids where the light-dependent stage of photosynthesis takes place. Within the thylakoids is the photosynthetic pigment called chlorophyll. Some thylakoids have tubular extensions that join up with thylakoids in adjacent grana. These are called intergranal lamellae.
• The stroma is a fluid-filled matrix where the light-independent stage of photosynthesis takes place. Within the stroma are a number of other structures such as starch grains.
what two purposes does light have in the LDR?
- to add an inorganic phosphate (Pi) molecule to ADP, thereby making ATP
- to split water into H+ ions (protons) and OH- ions. As the splitting is caused by light, it is known as photolysis
oxidation
When a substance gains oxygen or loses hydrogen the process is called oxidation. The substance to which oxygen has been added or hydrogen has been lost is said to be oxidised.
Oxidation results in energy being given out
reduction
When a substance loses oxygen, or gains hydrogen, the process is called reduction. In practice, when a substance is oxidised it loses electrons and when it is reduced it gains electrons
reduction results in energy being taken in.
photoionisation stage of LDR
When a chlorophyll molecule absorbs light energy, it boosts the energy of a pair of electrons within this chlorophyll molecule, raising them to a higher energy level. These electrons are said to be in an excited
state. The electrons become so energetic that they leave the chlorophyll molecule altogether. As result the chlorophyll molecule becomes ionised and so the process is called photoionisation. The electrons that leave the chlorophyll are taken up by a molecule called an electron carrier. Having lost a pair of electrons, the chlorophyll molecule has been oxidised. The electron carrier, which has gained electrons, has been reduced.
transfer of electrons down the electron transfer chain stage of LDR
The electrons are now passed along a number of electron carriers in a series of oxidation-reduction reactions. These electron carriers form a transfer chain that is located in the membranes of the thylakoids.
Each new carrier is at a slightly lower energy level than the previous one in the chain, and so the electrons lose energy at each stage. Some of this energy is used to combine an inorganic phosphate molecule with an ADP molecule in order to make ATP.
chemiosmosis stage of LDR
- Each thylakoid is an enclosed chamber into which protons (H+) are pumped from the stroma using protein carriers in the thylakoid membrane called proton pumps.
- The energy to drive this process comes from electrons released when water molecules are split by light - photolysis of water
- The photolysis of water also produces protons which further increases their concentration inside the thylakoid space.
- Overall this creates and maintains a concentration gradient of protons across the thylakoid membrane with a high concentration inside the thylakoid space and a low concentration in he stroma.
- The protons can only cross the thylakoid membrane through ATP synthase channel proteins - the rest of the membrane is impermeable to protons. These channels form small granules on the membrane surface and so are also known as stalked granules.
- As the protons pass through these ATP synthase channels they cause changes to the structure of the enzyme which then catalyses the combination of ADP with inorganic phosphate to form ATP.
Photolysis of water stage of LDR
The loss of electrons when light strikes a chlorophyll molecule leaves it short of electrons. If the chlorophyll molecule is to continue absorbing light energy, these electrons must be replaced. The replacement electrons are provided from water molecules that are split using light energy. This photolysis of water also yields protons. The equation for chis process is:
2H2O —> 4H+ 4e- + O2
These protons pass out of the thylakoid space through the ATP synthase channels and a re taken up by an electron carrier called NADP. On taking up the protons the NADP becomes reduced. The reduced NADP is the main product of the light-dependent stage and it enters the light independent reaction taking with it the electrons from the chlorophyll molecules. The reduced NADP is important because it is a further potential source of chemical energy to the plant. The oxygen by-product from the photolysis of water is either used in respiration or diffuses out o f the leaf as a waste product of photosynthesis.
site of LDR
the LDR of photosynthesis takes place in the thylakoids of chloroplasts. The thylakoids are disc-like
structures that are stacked together in groups called grana .
how are Chloroplasts structurally adapted to their function of capturing sunlight and carrying out the LDR of
photosynthesis
• The thylakoid membranes provide a large surface area for the attachment of chlorophyll. electron carriers and enzymes that carry
out the light-dependent reaction.
• A network of proteins in the grana hold the chlorophyll in a very precise manner that allows maximum absorption of light.
• The granal membranes have ATP synthase channels within them, which catalyse the production of ATP. They are also selectively permeable which allows establishment of a proton gradient.
• Chloroplasts contain both DNA and ribosomes so they can quickly and easily manufacture some of the proteins involved in the light-dependent reaction.
what determines the rate of PS?
carbon dioxide concentration, light intensity and well as temperature.
LDR summary
- Photons of light hit chlorophyll molecules in PSII causing the electrons to become excited.
This is called photoionisation. The charge separation from this drives the process of photolysis. - Photolysis is the splitting of water with light. One molecule of water requires 4 photons of light to split. When water is split it produces 1 molecule of oxygen, 4 protons and 4 electrons. The oxygen either naturally diffuses out through the stomata or is used in
respiration. The 4 electrons replace those lost from the chlorophyll, whilst the protons move into the stroma, later creating a proton gradient. - The excited electron then moves down a series of protein complexes. At one of the complexes the energy from the electron is used to pump 4 protons from the stroma to the thylakoid space.
- The electron then moves down the chain further to PSI. Here more photons of light are absorbed causing the electron to move back up to a high energy level.
- The electron then moves along the chain to another complex where the electron combines with a proton to form a hydrogen atom. This is then used to reduce NADP, forming reduced NADP.
- The pumping of protons across the membrane means that there is now a greater concentration of protons in the thylakoid space than the stroma. As a result a proton gradient forms with a high concentration in the thylakoid space and a low concentration in the stroma. The protons move across the membrane by diffusion through a protein known as a stalked particle. The movement of these protons drives the process of photophosphorylation. The enzyme ATP synthase phosphorylates ATP from ADP and Pi.
light independent reaction
- Carbon dioxide from the atmosphere diffuses into the leaf through stomata and dissolves in water around the walls of the mesophyll cells. It then diffuses through the cell-surface membrane, cytoplasm and chloroplast membranes into the stroma of the chloroplast.
- In the stroma, the carbon dioxide reacts with the 5 carbon compound ribulose bisphosphate (RuBP) a reaction catalysed by an enzyme called ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase, otherwise known as rubisco.
- The reaction between carbon dioxide and RuBP produces two molecules of the 3-carbon glycerate 3-phosphate (GP).
- Reduced NADP from the light-dependent reaction is used to reduce glycerate 3-phosphate to triose phosphate (TP) using energy supplied by ATP.
- The NADP is re -formed and goes back to the light-dependent reaction to be reduced again by accepting more protons.
- Some triose phosphate molecules are converted to organic substances that the plant requires such as starch, cellulose, lipids, glucose, amino acids, and nucleotides.
- Most triose phosphate molecules are used to regenerate ribulose bisphosphate using ATP from the light-dependent reaction.
co2 fixation stage of LIR
carbon dioxide that has diffused in through the stomata is fixed with ribulose bisphosphate (RuBP) in a process known as carboxylation. The enzyme Rubisco is needed in order to do this. A 6 carbon sugar is formed first, however this is very unstable and therefore forms 2 molecules of glycerate-3-phosphate.
reduction phase of LIR
The 2 molecules of glycerate-3-phosphate contain a
COOH group and is therefore an acid. The reducing power of reduced NADP therefore reduces the glycerate-3-phosphate, with energy being provided by ATP. This therefore forms 2 molecule of triose phosphate. All of the NADP from the light dependent reaction has now been used with only some of the ATP being used.
regeneration of RuBP stage of LIR
5 molecules of triose phosphate are used in order to regenerate 3 molecules of ribulose bisphosphate. The remaining amount of ATP from the light dependent stage is now used.
organic molecule production stage of LIR
2 molecules of triose phosphate can combine to form
the intermediate hexose sugar fructose 1,6 bisphosphate where after it forms molecules of glucose.
how many turns of the Calvin Cycle are required in order to produce 1 molecule of glucose per
molecule of CO2?
6