Module 6 Flashcards
An autotroph is
an organism that can produce its own food
Plants are also photoautotrophs, a type of autotroph that
uses sunlight and carbon from carbon dioxide to synthesize chemical energy in the form of carbohydrates
Heterotrophs are
Humans and animals are heterotrophs
organisms incapable of photosynthesis that must therefore obtain energy and carbon from food by consuming other organisms
Photosynthesis requires
sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water as starting reactants
After the process is complete, photosynthesis releases oxygen and produces carbohydrate molecules, most commonly glucose.
The process of photosynthesis occurs not on the surface layers of the leaf, but
in a middle layer called the mesophyll
The gas exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen occurs through small, regulated openings called
stomata.
Carbon dioxide enters through those openings, whereas oxygen exits them.
The pigment chlorophyll is responsible for the green color of plants
Photosynthesis takes place in two stages:
the light-dependent reactions and the Calvin cycle.
In the light-dependent reactions, which take place at the thylakoid membrane, chlorophyll absorbs energy from sunlight and then converts it into chemical energy with the use of water.
In the Calvin cycle, which takes place in the stroma, the chemical energy derived from the light-dependent reactions drives both the capture of carbon in carbon dioxide molecules and the subsequent assembly of sugar molecules.
The Calvin cycle (figure 6C-1) is the term used for the reactions of photosynthesis that use the energy stored by the light-dependent reactions to form glucose and other carbohydrate molecules.
the Calvin cycle does not require light to occur, and thus it is referre
The Calvin cycle reactions (figure 6C-2) can be organized into three basic stages: 1) fixation, 2) reduction, and 3) regeneration
Biogeochemical cycle
the recycling of inorganic matter between living organisms and their nonliving environment
