Photosynthesis Flashcards
What happens along an electron transport chain?
As electrons move through an electron transport chain, electron carriers alternate between reduced and oxidized states as they accept and then donate electrons. Electrons move from a less electronegative electron carrier (one with a lower affinity for electrons) to a more electronegative electron carrier down the chain, releasing free energy.
In photosynthesis, plants use carbon from __________ to make sugar and other organic molecules.
Carbon Dioxide (Less than 1% of the atmosphere is CO2, but that is enough to support photosynthesis)
How does carbon dioxide enter the leaf?
Through the stomata (These are the openings in the leaf for gas exchange)
What are Thylakoids?
A thylakoid is a membrane-bound compartment inside chloroplasts and cyanobacteria. They are the site of the light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis.
What do Thylakoids consist of?
Thylakoids consist of a thylakoid membrane surrounding a thylakoid lumen. Chloroplast thylakoids frequently form stacks of disks referred to as grana.
Chlorophyll molecules are in which part of the chloroplast?
The chlorophyll molecules are embedded in the thylakoid membranes of the chloroplasts
The source of the oxygen produced by photosynthesis has been identified through experiments using radioactive tracers. The oxygen comes from __________.
The oxygen produced by photosynthesis comes from the splitting of water.
In photosynthesis, what is the fate of the oxygen atoms present in CO2? They end up where?
The oxygen atoms present in carbon dioxide appear in sugar and water.
How is molecular oxygen produced?
The light reactions of photosynthesis generate molecular oxygen when water is split.
The reactions of the Calvin cycle are NOT directly dependent on light, but they usually do NOT occur at night. Why?
The ATP and NADPH produced during the light reactions are necessary for the Calvin cycle.
What is the role of NADP+ in photosynthesis?
It is the source of NADPH for the Calvin cycle.
Question 10: What is the role of NADP+ in photosynthesis?
It is the source of NADPH for the Calvin cycle.
A photon of which of these colors would carry the most energy?
Blue, the shorter the wavelength, the greater the energy content.
What is the most important role of pigments in photosynthesis?
The pigments absorb the energy required for the light reaction
Based on the work of Engelmann, a plot of photosynthetic activity versus wavelength of light is referred to as __________.
An action spectrum. It plots the effectiveness of different wavelengths of light in driving photosynthesis
What happens when chloroplast pigments absorb light?
When a molecule absorbs a photon of light, one of the molecule’s electrons is elevated to an orbital where it has more potential energy. (becomes excited)
What happens when chloroplast pigments absorb light,
When a molecule absorbs a photon of light, one of the molecule’s electrons is elevated to an orbital where it has more potential energy.
What is a photosystem?
The structure formed by the reaction center, light-harvesting complexes, and primary electron acceptors that cluster, and is located in the thylakoid membrane
During photosynthesis in chloroplasts, O2 is produced from __________ via a series of reactions associated with __________.
H2O … photosystem II
When photosystem II absorbs light, the electron that is excited to a higher energy level in the special chlorophyll leaves a “hole” that is filled when an enzyme extracts electrons from the hydrogen of water, releasing oxygen.
Which of the following is cycled in the cyclic variation of the light reactions?
a) ribulose bisphosphate
b) NADPH
c) electrons
d) protons
e) ATP
c) electrons
During the light reactions of photosynthesis, there are two possible routes for electron flow: cyclic and linear.
What are the two possible routes for electron flow?
cyclic and linear
What do both mitochondria and chloroplasts have in common?
Use chemiosmosis to produce ATP
Chloroplasts and mitochondria both generate ATP by chemiosmosis. An electron transport chain in the membrane pumps protons across the membrane as electrons are passed through a series of carriers that are progressively more electronegative. Built into the same membrane is an ATP synthase that couples the diffusion of hydrogen ions down their gradient to the phosphorylation of ADP.
How would you distinguish a thylakoid membrane from an inner mitochondrial membrane?
The thylakoid membrane would have photosynthetic pigments
During photosynthesis in a eukaryotic cell, an electrochemical gradient is formed across what?
Thylakoid membrane
In chloroplasts, the electron transport chain pumps protons from the stroma to the thylakoid space; these locations are separated by the thylakoid membrane
The light reactions of photosynthesis generate high-energy electrons, which end up in __________ through linear electron flow. The light reactions also produce __________ and __________.
NADPH … ATP … oxygen
The electrons are transferred to NADP+, forming NADPH. ATP is formed via photophosphorylation, and oxygen is produced when water molecules are split.
Where does the energy used to produce ATP in the light reactions of photosynthesis come from?
The movement of H+ through a membrane
Termed “chemiosmosis,” the diffusion of hydrogen ions through ATP synthase provides the energy to produce ATP.
What is the role of NADP+ in photosynthesis?
It is reduced and then carries electrons to the Calvin cycle.
Electrons received from photosystem I reduce NADP+ to NADPH, which then carries them to the Calvin cycle
What occurs during the Calvin cycle involving ATP and NADPH?
ATP is hydrolyzed and NADPH is oxidized.
What is Rubisco?
The enzyme that catalyzes the first step of the Calvin cycle (incorporation of a molecule of carbon dioxide by attaching it to a five-carbon sugar, named ribulose biphosphate, or RuBP) is RuBP carboxylase, or rubisco. (The enzyme in plants that captures CO2 to begin the Calvin cycle)
In the Calvin cycle, CO2 is combined with what to form an unstable six-carbon compound?
a five-carbon compound to form an unstable six-carbon compound, which decomposes into two three-carbon compounds
What correctly describes the relationship between the light reactions and the Calvin cycle?
The light reactions produce ATP and NADPH, both of which are used in the Calvin cycl
Why are C4 plants more suited to hot climates than C3 plants?
Unlike C3 plants, they keep fixing carbon dioxide even when the concentration of carbon dioxide in the leaf is low.
You have a large, healthy philodendron that you carelessly leave in total darkness while you are away on vacation. You are surprised to find that it is still alive when you return. What has the plant been using for an energy source while in the dark?
While it did have access to light, the plant stored energy in the form of sugars or starch, and it was able to derive energy from the stored molecules during your vacation.
When donating its activated electron, the chlorophyll in photosystem II is a very powerful oxidizing agent. How is this best shown?
It’s ability to force the oxidation of oxygen in water to oxygen gas. Water is so energetically expensive, based on water being an end product of cellular respiration. it needs a powerful oxidising agent