Photosynthesis Flashcards
Autotroph
An autotroph is an organism that makes organic compounds from simple molecules.
Photoautotroph
A photoautotroph is able to convert light energy into chemical energy, which can be used to drive processes such as respiration, active transport systems, muscular contraction, etc.
Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is the conversion of light energy to chemical energy that is stored in glucose and other organic compounds.
By-product
A by-product is an incidental or secondary product made in the manufacture or synthesis of something else.
Cytoplasmic streaming
Cytoplasmic streaming is the circular flow of cytoplasm, involving the cytoskeleton, that speeds up the distribution of materials within cells.
Spectrophotometer
A spectrophotometer is a device that directs beams of light of different wavelengths through a solution of pigment and measures the fraction of the light transmitted at each wavelength.
Absorption spectrum
An absorption spectrum shows the amount of light of each wavelength absorbed by each pigment.
Action spectrum
An action spectrum shows the effectiveness of different wavelengths of light in stimulating photosynthesis. It is a graph showing rate of photosynthesis at each wavelength of light.
Photophosphorylation
Photophosphorylation is the process of generating ATP from ADP and Pi (inorganic phosphate) by means of a proton gradient / proton-motive force generated across the thylakoid membrane of the chloroplast using light energy absorbed during the light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis.
Variegation
Variegation is a condition whereby absence of chloroplast or pigments causes sections of a leaf or stem to have white patches or have patches with different, often lighter, colours.
Photoactivation
When a chlorophyll molecule absorbs a photon of light, one of the pigment molecule’s electrons is elevated from a ground state to its excited state. The chlorophyll molecule is said to be phosphoactivated.
Resonance transfer of energy
When a chlorophyll molecule absorbs a photon of light, one of the pigment molecule’s electrons is elevated from its ground state to its excited state. When the excited electron returns to its ground state, the energy released is transferred to the electron of another pigment molecule. This is called resonance transfer.
Limiting factor
The principle of limiting factors states that when a chemical process is affected by more than one factor, its rate is limited by that factor which is nearest its minimum value. It is that limiting factor which directly affects a process if its magnitude is changed.
Compensation point
Compensation point is a point when photosynthetic rate equals to respiration rate, with no net change of oxygen and carbon dioxide.
