Bio Ch 7 Flashcards
Photosynthesis
converts solar energy into the chemical energy of a carbohydrate
Autotrophs
land plants, algae, and cyanobacteria are these because they produce their own food
Heterotrophs
consumers; take in preformed organic molecules
Stomata (singular = stoma)
carbon dioxide in the air enters a leaf through these small openings
Chloroplasts
organelles that carry on photosynthesis
Stroma
semifluid interior of the chloroplast
Thylakoids
flattened sacs within the stroma of chloroplasts
Grana (singular = granum)
stacks of thylakoids; looked like piles of seeds to early microscopists
Chlorophyll
within the thylakoid membrane are this and other pigments that are capable of absorbing solar energy, the type of energy that drives photosynthesis
Light reactions
only occur when solar energy is available (during daytime hours)
Calvin Cycle Reactions
named for Melvin Calvin (discoverer); enzymatic reactions that reduce carbon dioxide to a carbohydrate in the stroma of chloroplasts
Absorption spectrum
pigments in chloroplasts are capable of absorbing various portions of visible light
Carotenoids
yellows/oranges; able to absorb light in the violet-blue-green range
Photosystem
consists of a pigment complex (molecules of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, & the carotenoids) & electron acceptor molecules within the thylakoid membrane
Noncyclic pathway
during light reactions, electrons usually follow this that begins with photosystem I