Photosynthesis Quizlet 2 Flashcards
Photosynthesis
process by which plants and some other organisms use light energy to convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and high-energy carbohydrates such as sugars and starches
C4 Plants
A plant that changes CO2 into a four carbon compound before entering the Calvin cycle for photosynthesis, is related to their unique leaf anatomy( 2 distinct bundle sheath cells and looselty arranges mesophyll cells), CO2 is incorporated into the mesophyll cells and PEP Carboxylase. (Sugarcane, Corn most Grasses)
Consumers
an organism that obtains energy and nutrients by feeding on other organisms or their remains.
Autotrophs
organisms that use energy from sunlight or from chemical bonds in inorganic substances to make organic compounds, and are thefore called producers.
Heterotrophs
An organism that obtains organic food molecules by eating other organisms or their by-products, and are therefore consumers.
Chloroplasts
An organelle found only in plants and photosynthetic protists that absorbs sunlight and uses it to drive the synthesis of organic compounds from carbon dioxide and water.
Chlorophyll
a green pigment that is present in most plant cells, that gives plants their characteristic green color, and that reacts with sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water to form carbohydrates, found mainly in the cells of the mesophyll
Mesophyll
The ground tissue of a leaf, sandwiched between the upper and lower epidermis and specialized for photosynthesis because it contains most of the chlorophyll.
Stomata
A microscopic pore surrounded by guard cells in the epidermis of leaves and stems that allows gas exchange and some water vapor exchange .
Stroma
The fluid of the chloroplast surrounding the thylakoid membrane; involved in the synthesis of organic molecules from carbon dioxide and water. (Where Calvin Cycle takes place).
Thylakoids
A flattened membrane sac inside the chloroplast, used to convert light energy to chemical energy
Thylakoid Space
space within each thylakoid which is thought to be connected to the space within every other thylakoid
Grana
A stacked portion of the thylakoid membrane in the chloroplast. Grana function in the light reactions of photosynthesis
Guard cells
Specialized cells in the epidermis of the leaf that control the opening and closing of stomata by responding to changes in water pressure.
Lignin
A hard material embedded in the cellulose matrix of vascular plant cell walls that functions as an important adaptation for support in terrestrial species.
Van Niel
(Last name) Hypothesized that oxygen was released from water, not carbon dioxide, by using the fact that some bacteria use H2S instead of Water for photsynthesis., 20 years after scientists used a oxygen 18 as a radiotracer.
Light Reactions
The steps in photosynthesis that occur on the thylakoid membranes of the chloroplast and that convert solar energy to the chemical energy of ATP and NADPH, evolving oxygen in the process.
Calvin Cycle
Also known as the dark reactions, , The second of two major stages in photosynthesis (following the light reactions), involving atmospheric CO2 fixation and reduction of the fixed carbon into carbohydrate by addition of electrons (Occurs in the Stroma)
NADP+
Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate, an acceptor that temporarily stores energized electrons produced during the light reactions.
Photophosphorylation
The process of generating ATP from ADP and phosphate by means of a proton-motive force generated by the thylakoid membrane of the chloroplast during the light reactions of photosynthesis
Melvin Calvin
American scientist who worked out the details of the Calvin cycle
Carbon Fixation
The incorporation of carbon from carbon dioxide into an organic compound by an autotrophic organism.
Wavelength
The distance between crests of waves, such as those of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Electromagnetic Spectrum
arrangement of electromagnetic radiation–including radio waves, visible light from the Sun, gamma rays, X rays, ultraviolet waves, infrared waves, and microwaves–according to their wavelengths