Photosynthesis Flashcards
Photosynthesis
the process in which MOST autotrophs produce chemical energy from sunlight energy from which they absorb
Autotrophs
organisms that use sunlight to produce sugar which will be used for energy
Heterotroph
organisms that do not get their energy from sunlight, but instead, actually consume food
Chlorophyll
The main molecule responsible for absorbing and capturing light for the cell located in thylakoids
Stomata
cell structures in leaves that open and closes to release gasses, which regulates the air flow in plants
Stroma
the inner aqueous fluid inside of the chloroplast, surrounding the granum
Light reactions
when light energy converts to chemical energy where it is then temporarily stored in ATP and NADPH
Calvin Cycle
A series of reactions, occurring during photosynthesis, in which glucose is synthesized from carbon dioxide
NADP+
an electron carrier that carries electrons across the thylakoid membrane, that also accepts hydrogen atoms to become NADPH
Phosphorylation
Adding a phosphate group to a molecule or compound
Carbon fixation
the process by which CO2 is fixed/incorporated into organic compounds by plants
Visible Light
light that can be seen visibly by the human eye “white lights”
Chlorophyll A
primary pigment in chlorophyll that absorbs more red color
Chlorophyll B
accessory pigment chlorophyll that absorbs more blue color
Carotenoids
accessory pigments such as yellow, brown and orange
Primary electron acceptor
a protein that collects high energy chlorophyll electrons and transports them to second transport protein
Photosystem
proteins embedded with pigments that are the functional units for photosynthesis
C3 Plants
plants that will fix carbon into the 3-carbon compounds (3-PGA) via the Calvin cycle (Most common)
C4 Plants
plants that will fix carbon into 4-carbon compounds via the Calvin cycle. They do this mostly because of the weather (hot and dry)
CAM Plants
CAM plants are plants located in hot and dry location such as cacti, that use their CAM (crassulacean acid metabolism) to minimize photo-respiration
Chemiosomosis
the production of ATP protein gradient moving through the protein pump ATP synthesis
