Bioenergetics - Photosynthesis Flashcards
What is photosynthesis?
What does it require?
A chemical reaction in the chloroplasts of plants.
It requires sun to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen
What is the fully balanced equation for photosynthesis?
Where in the plant does photosynthesis occur?
In the leaves of plants that contain chlorophyll (green pigment) within chloroplasts and also in leaves that face the sun.
Which cells in plants contain the highest number of chloroplasts?
Mesophyll leaf cells
When would photosynthesis not be able to happen?
In the dark (because it requires light)
Where is the glucose that is produced in photosynthesis transported to?
Transported to all other plants of the plant that require it by the phloem.
Apart from normal plants, what else can photosynthesise and produce oxygen?
Algae - they are not technically plants. Some have green algae, others have different photosynthetic pigment that is red or brown.
What is a “limiting factor” in a reaction?
Anything that reduces the rate of a reaction, e.g.: if you’re baking a cake an run out of eggs, the eggs are the limiting factor?
What are the 4 limiting factors in photosynthesis?
1) Low temperatures - reactants have less kinetic energy
2) Low CO2 - is a reactant so reaction can’t occur without it
3) Low light - required for the reaction so can’t occur without it
4) Low chlorophyll - Chlorophyll is the green pigment that absorbs the light.
How do the limiting factors of photosynthesis affect the way farmers grow their crops?
- They control temperature to make it optimum
- They have burners near their plants to produce CO2
- They provide plants with maximum light
All of this to make sure they get the most yield from their crop.
What kind of reaction is photosynthesis?
It is endothermic - this means the energy of the products are higher than the energy of the reactants.
Where does the extra energy that the products get in photosynthesis come from?
From the light required - it breaks apart chemical bonds and re-forms them with extra energy stored in them.
What is the energy stored in the glucose created from photosynthesis used for in plants?
1) Used respiration
2) Converted into starch and stored
3) Converted into fats and oils and stored
4) Used to make cellulose cell walls for growth
5) Used with nitrate ions absorbed from the soil to make proteins.
