Chapter 8 - Energy and Life (vocab) Flashcards
compound used by cells to store and release energy
adenosine triphosphate (ATP)
organism that obtains food by consuming other living things; also called a consumer
heterotroph
organism that is able to capture energy from sunlight or chemicals and use it to produce its own food from inorganic compounds; also called a producer
autotroph
process used by plants and other autotrophs to capture light energy and use it to power chemical reactions that convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and energy-rich carbohydrates such as sugars and starches
photosynthesis
light-absorbing molecule used by plants to gather the sun’s energy
pigment
principal pigment of plants and other photosynthetic organisms
chlorophyll
saclike photosynthetic membranes found in chloroplasts
thylakoid
fluid portion of the chloroplast; outside of the thylakoids
stroma
carrier molecule that transfers high-energy electrons from chlorophyll to other molecules
NADP+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate)
set of reactions in photosynthesis that use energy from light to produce ATP and NADPH
light-dependent reactions
set of reactions in photosynthesis that do not require light; energy from ATP and NADPH is used to build high-energy compounds such as sugar; also called the Calvin cycle
light-independent reactions
cluster of chlorophyll and proteins found in thylakoids
photosystem
series of electron carrier proteins that shuttle high-energy electrons during ATP-generating reactions
electron transport chain
cluster of proteins that span the cell membrane and allow hydrogen ions (H+) to pass through it
ATP synthase
light-independent reactions of photosynthesis in which energy from ATP and NADPH is used to build high-energy compounds such as sugar
Calvin cycle
