Photosynthesis Flashcards
All living things would die without the ___ and ______
sun; photosynthesis
Light
form in which energy from the sun travels to Earth
Sunlight is perceived as
white light
White light is made up of
different wavelengths
Visible Spectrum
ROYGBV
Pigments
light absorbing molecules that plants and other photosynthetic organisms use to capture the sun’s energy
Chlorophyll
plant’s principle pigment
How many types of chlorophyll are there
2
What are the types of chlorophyll
Chlorophyll a and Chlorophyll b
Chlorophyll a
main chlorophyll which absorbs red and blue light
Chlorophyll b
secondary chlorophyll which also absorbs red and blue light
Why do plants not absorb the color green?
b/c they reflect green light, which is why they appear green most of the time
Caretenoids
pigment that absorbs red, orange, and yellow
Why do the leaves turn different colors in the fall?
We see different color leaves in the fall bc there is less sunlight in the fall, so less chlorophyll is produced so caretenoids tend to be shown
Black reflects
no colors
White reflects
all colors
Thylakoids
saclike photosynthetic membranes which contain chlorophyll
Grana
stack of thykaloids
Stroma
clear fluid portion of chloroplast
When energy is absorbed by chlorophyll, a large fraction of that energy is transferred to the ____ in the chlorophyll molecule, this ____ energy which in turn ______ photosynthesis
high energy electrons; increases; increases
Electron Carrier
compound that can accept a pair of high energy electrons and transfer them (and most of their energy) to another molecule
Electron carriers also carry ___ (less important)
protons
NADP+ stands for
Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate
Example of a carrier molecule
NADP+
