Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Biology 100 > Photosynthesis > Flashcards

Photosynthesis Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
AP® Biology flashcards Biology 101 flashcards
0
Q

Accessory pigment

A

any pigment in plants that can absorb light energy and pass the electrons along to the primary pigment which starts the process of photosynthesis.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
1
Q

Absorption spectrum

A

The range of frequencies of electromagnetic radiation readily absorbed by a substance by virtue of its chemical composition.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Action spectrum

A

Action spectrum - the efficiency with which electromagnetic radiation produces a photochemical reaction plotted as a function of the wavelength of the radiation.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Spectrum

A

An ordered array of the components of an emission or wave

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

ATP

A

Adenosine triphosphate.

An organic compound, C 10 H 16 N 5 O 13 P 3 , that is composed of adenosine and three phosphate groups.

It serves as a source of energy for many metabolic processes. ATP releases energy when it is broken down into ADP by hydrolysis during cell metabolism.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Antenna array

A

A directional antenna or system of antennas for radio transmission or reception.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Antenna pigment

A

A pigment that is present in chloroplasts or photosynthetic.

The main Purpose of Antenna Pigments are to split water and relase oxygen to the reaction center chlorophyll.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Atom

A

A unit of matter, the smallest unit of an element, having all the characteristics of that element and consisting of a dense, central, positively charged nucleus surrounded by a system of electrons.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Autotroph

A

An organism capable of synthesizing its own food from inorganic substances using light or chemical energy. Green plants, algae, and certain bacteria are autotrophs.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

C3 plant

A

A plant that utilizes the C3 carbon fixation pathway as the sole mechanism to convert CO2 into an organic compound (i.e. 3-phosphogylycerate).

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

C4 plant

A

A plant in which the CO2 is first fixed into a compound containing four carbon atoms before entering the Calvin cycle of photosynthesis.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Calvin cycle

A

A series of chemical reactions that occurs as part of the dark reactions of photosynthesis, in which carbon is broken away from gaseous carbon dioxide and fixed as organic carbon in compounds that are ultimately used to make sugars and starch as food.

The Calvin cycle starts with a five-carbon sugar molecule, to which the carbon of carbon dioxide is attached by a covalent bond. This unstable molecule breaks apart into two three-carbon molecules, which are reduced by the electron-carriers ATP and NADPH (which were created by the earlier light reactions) into three-carbon molecules that are available for the synthesis of sugar and starch. It takes three carbon dioxide molecules to produce enough carbon for the synthesis of one of these three-carbon molecules and to regenerate the five-carbon sugar so the cycle can begin again.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

CAM plant

A

CAM plants often show xerophytic features, such as thick, reduced leaves with a low surface-area-to-volume ratio, thick cuticle, and stomata sunken into pits.

Cam plants utilize an elaborate carbon fixation pathway in a way that the stomata are open at night to permit entry of CO2 to be fixed and stored as a four-carbon acid (i.e. malate).Then, during the day the CO2 is released for use in the Calvin cycle. In this way, the rubisco is provided with high concentration of CO2 while the stomata are closed during the hottest and driest part of the day to prevent the excessive loss of water. CAM plants are therefore highly adapted to arid conditions.

Examples of CAM plants include orchids, cactus, jade plant, etc.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Carbon fixation

A

The process in plants and algae by which atmospheric carbon dioxide is converted into organic carbon compounds, such as carbohydrates, usually by photosynthesis.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Carbon cycle

A

The continuous process by which carbon is exchanged between organisms and the environment. Carbon dioxide is absorbed from the atmosphere by plants and algae and converted to carbohydrates by photosynthesis. Carbon is then passed into the food chain and returned to the atmosphere by the respiration and decay of animals, plants, and other organisms. The burning of fossil fuels also releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Carotenoid

A

Any of a class of yellow to red pigments found especially in plants, algae, and photosynthetic bacteria. Carotenoids generally consist of conjoined units of the hydrocarbon isoprene, with alternating single and double bonds. The carotenoids absorb light energy of certain frequencies and transfer it to chlorophyll for use in photosynthesis. They also act as antioxidants for chlorophyll, protecting it from damage by oxidation in the presence of sunlight. Carotenoids are nutritionally important for many animals, giving flamingoes their color, for example, and also have antioxidant properties. There are many types of carotenoids, including carotenes and xanthophylls.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Chlorophyll

A

Any of several green pigments found in photosynthetic organisms, such as plants, algae, and cyanobacteria.

At its molecular core, chlorophyll has a porphyrin structure but contains a magnesium atom at its center and a long carbon side chain. Chlorophyll absorbs red and blue wavelengths of light, but reflects green. When it absorbs light energy, a chlorophyll molecule enters a higher energy state in which it easily gives up an electron to the first available electron-accepting molecule nearby. This electron moves through a chain of acceptors and is ultimately used in the synthesis of ATP, which provides chemical energy for plant metabolism.

Plants rely on two forms of chlorophyll, chlorophyll a (C66H72MgN4O5) and chlorophyll b (C66H70MgN4O6), which have slightly different light absorbing properties. All plants, algae, and cyanobacteria have chlorophyll a, since only this compound can pass an electron to acceptors in oxygen-producing photosynthetic reactions. Chlorophyll b absorbs light energy that is then transferred to chlorophyll a. Several protist groups such as brown algae and diatoms lack chlorophyll b but have another pigment, chlorophyll c, instead. Other closely related pigments are used by various bacteria in photosynthetic reactions that do not produce oxygen.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Chlorophyll a

A

The green coloring matter of leaves and plants, essential to the production of carbohydrates by photosynthesis, and occurring in a bluish-black form, C 55 H 72 MgN 4 O 5 (chlorophyll a)
and a dark-green form, C 55 H 70 MgN 4 O 6 (chlorophyll b)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Chlorophyll b

A

the green coloring matter of leaves and plants, essential to the production of carbohydrates by photosynthesis, occurring in a dark-green form, C 55 H 70 MgN 4 O 6 (chlorophyll b)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Chloroplast

A

A plastid in the cells of green plants and green algae that contains chlorophylls and carotenoid pigments and creates glucose through photosynthesis.

In plants, chloroplasts are usually disk-shaped and can reorient themselves in the cell to vary their exposure to sunlight. Chloroplasts contain the saclike membranes known as thylakoids , which contain the chlorophyll and are arranged in stacklike structures known as grana. Besides conducting photosynthesis, plant chloroplasts store starch and are involved in amino acid synthesis. Like mitochondria, chloroplasts have their own DNA that is different from the DNA in the nucleus, and chloroplasts are therefore believed to have evolved from symbiont bacteria, their DNA being a remnant of their past existence as independent organisms.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

CAM

A

Crassulacean acid metabolism (botany), an elaborate carbon fixation pathway in plants, such as the succulents and some xerophytes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Electromagnetic spectrum

A

The entire spectrum, considered as a continuum, of all kinds of electric, magnetic, and visible radiation, from gamma rays having a wavelength of 0.001 angstrom to long waves having a wavelength of more than 1 million km.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Epidermis

A

The outer layer of cells of the stems, roots, and leaves of plants. In most plants, the epidermis is a single layer of cells set close together to protect the plant from water loss, invasion by fungi, and physical damage. The epidermis that is exposed to air is covered with a protective substance called cuticle.

23
Q

G3P

A

(Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate)

A chemical compound that serves as an intermediate in several central metabolic pathways in all organisms.

24
Q

Granum

A

A stacked membranous structure within the chloroplasts of plants and green algae that contains the chlorophyll and is the site of the light reactions of photosynthesis. The saclike membranes that make up grana are known as thylakoids.

25
Q

Heterotroph

A

An organism that cannot manufacture its own food and instead obtains its food and energy by taking in organic substances, usually plant or animal matter. All animals, protozoans, fungi, and most bacteria are heterotrophs.

26
Q

Leaf

A

One of the expanded, usually green organs borne by the stem of a plant.

27
Q

Light dependent reaction

A

The reaction taking place in the chloroplast in which the absorption of a photon leads to the formation of atp and nadph.

28
Q

Light independent reaction

A

The series of biochemical reactions in photosynthesis that do not require light to proceed, and ultimately produce organic molecules from carbon dioxide.

29
Q

Light reaction

A

Any of the chemical reactions that take place during the first stage of photosynthesis and require the presence of light. During the light reactions, energy captured from light by chlorophyll and its accessory pigments drives the production of ATP, the source of energy that is later used to drive the production of carbohydrates.

30
Q

Light harvesting complex

A

The light-harvesting complex (or antenna complex) is an array of protein and chlorophyll molecules embedded in the thylakoid membrane of plants, which transfer light energy to one chlorophyll a molecule at the reaction center of a photosystem.

31
Q

Linear electron flow

A

Linear electron flow is the primary pathway; it invloves both photosystems II and I and produces ATP & NADPH using light energy; it also produces O2

32
Q

Mesophyll

A

The tissues of a leaf that are located in between the layers of epidermis and carry on photosynthesis, consisting of the palisade layer and the spongy parenchyma. Most mesophyll cells contain chloroplasts.

33
Q

Mesophyll cell

A

Mesophyll cells are cells found in the middle of the leaf whose function is to carry out photosynthesis process.

34
Q

NADP+

A

The oxidized form of NADP.

35
Q

NADPH

A

The reduced form of NADP. NADPH has one more electron than NADP.

36
Q

Photoautotroph

A

Any organism that derives its energy for food synthesis from light and is capable of using carbon dioxide as its principal source of carbon.

37
Q

Photolysis

A

Chemical decomposition induced by light or other radiant energy. Photolysis plays an important role in photosynthesis, during which it produces energy by splitting water molecules into gaseous oxygen and hydrogen ions.

38
Q

Photon

A

The quantum of electromagnetic energy, generally regarded as a discrete particle having zero mass, no electric charge, and an indefinitely long lifetime.

39
Q

Photophosphorylation

A

Phosphorylation that utilizes light as a source of energy, as in the formation of ATP from ADP and phosphorus during photosynthesis.

40
Q

Photorespiration

A

The chemical combination of carbohydrates with oxygen in plants with the release of carbon dioxide.

Photorespiration requires the presence of light, is catalyzed in the chloroplasts by the same enzymes that catalyze the combination of carbohydrates with carbon dioxide during photosynthesis, and occurs when oxygen concentrations in the cell are high.

Photorespiration typically takes place during conditions of high light intensity, dryness, and heat (often resulting in the closure of stomata), when the amount of carbon dioxide entering the plant is reduced, and the amount of oxygen produced by photosynthesis accumulates. Photorespiration thus acts to produce carbon dioxide when it is unavailable and acts as a check on photosynthesis and on the productivity of the plant.

Unlike cellular respiration, photorespiration does not produce any ATP or NADH, and so consumes chemical energy rather than produces it. Many angiosperms have a supplemental method of carbon-dioxide uptake that minimizes losses from photorespiration.

41
Q

Photosynthesis (1st explanation)

A

The process by which green plants, algae, diatoms, and certain forms of bacteria make carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water in the presence of chlorophyll, using energy captured from sunlight by chlorophyll, and releasing excess oxygen as a byproduct.

In plants and algae, photosynthesis takes place in organelles called chloroplasts. Photosynthesis is usually viewed as a two-step process.

First, in the light reactions, the energy-providing molecule ATP is synthesized using light energy absorbed by chlorophyll and accessory pigments such as carotenoids and phycobilins, and water is broken apart into oxygen and a hydrogen ion, with the electron of the hydrogen transferred to another energy molecule, NADPH.

The ATP and NADPH molecules power the second part of photosynthesis by the transfer of electrons. In these light-independent or dark reactions, carbon is broken away from carbon dioxide and combined with hydrogen via the Calvin cycle to create carbohydrates. Some of the carbohydrates, the sugars, can then be transported around the organism for immediate use; others, the starches, can be stored for later use.

42
Q

Photosynthesis (2nd explanation)

A

Almost all life on Earth depends on food made by organisms that can perform photosynthesis, such as green plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. These organisms make carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water using light energy from the Sun. They capture this energy with various pigments which absorb different wavelengths of light.

The most important pigment, chlorophyll a, captures mainly blue and red light frequencies, but reflects green light. In plants, the other pigments are chlorophyll b and carotenoids. The carotenoids are usually masked by the green color of chlorophyll, but in temperate environments they can be seen as the bright reds and yellows of autumn after the chlorophyll in the leaves has broken down. The energy gathered by these pigments is passed to chlorophyll a.

During the light reactions, the plant uses this energy to break water molecules into oxygen (O2), hydrogen ions, and electrons. The light reactions produce more oxygen than is needed for cellular respiration, so it is released as waste. All of the oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere today was produced as waste by photosynthetic organisms, especially cyanobacteria, which have been producing oxygen for some three billion years, since their first appearance in the Precambrian Eon.

During the dark reactions, the plant uses hydrogen ions and the electrons to make carbon dioxide into carbohydrates. Within the leaf of a green plant, photosynthesis takes place in chlorophyll-containing chloroplasts in the columnlike cells of the palisade layer and in the cells of the spongy parenchyma. The cells obtain carbon dioxide from air that enters the leaf through holes called stomata, which also allow excess oxygen to escape. Water from the roots is brought to the leaf by the vascular tissues called xylem, while the carbohydrates made by the leaf are distributed to the rest of the plant by the vascular tissue called phloem.

43
Q

Photosystem

A

A multisubunit complex found mainly in the thylakoid membranes of plants and algae, and in the cytoplasmic membranes of photosynthetic bacteria. It is primarily involved in capturing light to cause a series of redox reactions.

44
Q

Photosystem 1

A

The photosystem that makes use of light to transfer electron particualrly from plastocyanin to ferredoxin, and whose reaction center chlorophyll is P700.

45
Q

Photosystem 2

A

The photosystem that absorbs light for use to drive the oxidation of water and the reduction of plastoquinone, and whose reaction center chlorophyll is P680.

46
Q

Plastid

A

An organelle found in the cells of plants, green algae, red algae, and certain other protists. Like mitochondria, plastids have an inner and outer membrane, and contain their own DNA and ribosomes. Some plastids, such as the chloroplasts in plant leaves, contain pigments.

47
Q

Electron acceptor

A

A molecule that receives or accepts electrons from another molecule during a redox reaction.

48
Q

Producer

A

An autotrophic organism that serves as a source of food for other organisms in a food chain. Producers include green plants, which produce food through photosynthesis, and certain bacteria that are capable of converting inorganic substances into food through chemosynthesis.

49
Q

Reaction center complex

A

In a photosystem in a chloroplast, the chlorophyll molecules and the primary electron acceptor that trigger the light reactions of a photosynthesis. The chlorophyll donates an electron excited by light energy to the primary electron acceptor, which passes an electron to an electron transport chain

50
Q

Rubisco

A

An enzyme that catalyzes the reaction that incorporates (fixes) carbon dioxide into the calvin cycle.

51
Q

Spectrophotometer

A

An instrument for measuring the intensity of light of a definite wavelength transmitted by a substance or a solution, thus providing a measure of the amount of material in the solution absorbing the light.

52
Q

Stomata

A

Plural form of stoma.

Any of various small apertures, especially one of the minute orifices or slits in the epidermis of leaves, stems, etc., through which gases are exchanged.

53
Q

Stroma

A

The supporting framework or matrix of a cell.

Botany . the matrix of a chloroplast, containing various molecules and ions.

54
Q

Thylakoid

A

A saclike membrane that contains the chlorophyll in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of plant cells and green algae. In chloroplasts, thylakoids are arranged in stacks called grana.

55
Q

Visible light

A

Visible light is a range of electromagnetic radiation that can be detected by the human eye. The wavelengths associated with this range are 380 nm to 750 nm. (1 nm = 10-9 m)

56
Q

Wavelength

A

The distance between one peak or crest of a wave and the next peak or crest. It is equal to the speed of the wave divided by its frequency, and to the speed of a wave times its period.

Biology 100 (3 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions