Photosynthesis Flashcards
How does energy enter plants
- Energy in light absorbed by chlorophyll
- transferred into chemical energy of molecules formed during photosynthesis
- molecules used by plants to produce atp during respiration
What is the site of photosynthesis
- leaf is the main photosynthetic structure
- chloroplasts are the cellular organelles
What are the three raw materials of photosynthesis?
Water, carbon dioxide and light
What are the products of photosynthesis
Oxygen and glucose
How are leaves adapted to bring together raw materials of photosynthesis and remove waste products? (9)
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- large surface area= absorb as much light as possible
- arrangement of leaves= minimise overlapping so avoids shadowing of one leaf by another
- thin= light absorbed by by first few micrometers of leaf so short diffusion distance
- transparent cuticle & epidermis = let light through to photosynthetic mesophyll cells beneath
- long, narrow upper mesophyll cells packed with chloroplasts= collect as much sunlight as possible
- numerous stomata= gaseous exchange, all mesophyll cells have short diffusion pathway
- stomata open and close= response to changes in light intensity
- many air spaces in lower mesophyll layer= allow rapid diffusion in gas phase of CO2 & O2
- network of xylem & phloem= brings water to leaf cells, carries away sugars produced in photosynthesis
What is the equation for photosynthesis
6CO2+6H2O—(light)—> C6H12O6 + 6O2
What are the three main stages of photosynthesis?
- capturing of light energy
- the light-dependent reaction
- the light-independent reaction
What happens in the first main stage of photosynthesis?
Light energy captured by chloroplast pigment, chlorophyll
What happens in the second main stage of photosynthesis?
Some of the light energy absorbed is conserved in chemical bonds; during the process an electron flow is created by the effect of light on chlorophyll, causing photolysis to take place, creating NADPH, ATP and oxygen
What is photolysis
The light energy absorbed into the chlorophyll causing the splitting of water into protons, electrons and oxygen
What are the products of photolysis
NADPH, ATP and oxygen
What is the third main stage of photosynthesis
- Light-independent reaction
- The protons (hydrogen ions) are used to produce sugars and other organic molecules
What are the typical features of chloroplasts?
Disc-shaped, 2-10 nm long and 1nm in diameter, they are surrounded by a double membrane and inside contain two distinct regions; the grana and stroma
What is the grana
- stacks of up to 100 disc-like structures called thylakoids
What are thylakoids
-makes up grana
-where the light-dependent reaction takes place
-contains photosynthetic pigment, chlorophyll
- some have tubular extensions, that join up with adjacent thylakoids, called intergranal lamellae