Photosynthesis Flashcards
Photosynthesis
Process by which green plants make their own food:
Autotrophs
Make sure of inorganic compounds such as water and carbon dioxide to make complex compounds, hence plants are photoautotrophs
Photosynthesis products
Glucose but its derivatives are starch, cellulose, proteins, DNA, lipids, RNA
Features of light
Wave length
intensity
Duration
- To be used as energy source for organisms light is first converted to chemical energy: transduction
Quanta and Photon
Radiant energy comes in discrete pockets called quanta
A single quantum of light is called a photon
Chemical equation for photosynthesis
6CO2 + 6H2O –> C6H1206 + 6O2
Reduction process
Carbon dioxide is chemically reduced by the addition of hydrogen.
Carbon dioxide has been fixed in photosynthesis - incorporated of carbon dioxide into glucose
Oxidised
Water is oxidised
Stages
Light dependent and Light Independent
Light dependent: location + products
Thylakoid membrane of chloroplast
Cyclic and non-cyclic stages
Light energy is absorbed by chlorophyll to produce ATP, and NADPH (reduced NADP)
Using H atoms from water and releasing oxygen gas
Light Independent: location + products
Stroma of the chloroplast
Calvin Cycle
Products: reduced carbon dioxide to carbohydrates, NADP bring hydrogen to reduce carbon dioxide
Driven by energy from the hydrolysis of ATP (not direct sunlight)
Co-enzymes
- A molecule that aids the function of an enzyme
Work by transferring a chemical group from one molecule to another
Involved in photosynthesis - as NADP (transfer of hydrogen to one molecule to another
Redox reactions: Reduction
If something is reduced it has gained electrons and hydrogen or lost oxygen
Redox reactions: Oxidation
If something is oxidised it has lost hydrogen and electrons or gained oxygen
Oxidation of one molecule always involves the reductions of another
Features of leaves
Large surface area to volume with chlorophyll located close to the top of the surface
Thin structure for rapid light penetration
Network of air spaces for gases to reach the photosynthetic tissue
Vessels to transport water and take away to photosynthates - via the phloem
Photosynthates
Sucrose and amino acids