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Biology 172 - Exam 4 > Photosynthesis terms > Flashcards

Photosynthesis terms Flashcards

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1
Q

autotroph

A

An organism that produces nutrients from light or chemical energy and biochemical processes that convert simpler inorganic molecules into complex organic molecules like sugars; examples are photosynthetic organisms.

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2
Q

chlorophyll

A

The primary pigment in green plants; absorbs light in photosynthesis.

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3
Q

chloroplast

A

Organelle that contains chlorophyll and carries out photosynthesis.

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4
Q

heterotroph

A

An organism that must acquire energy from other organisms.

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5
Q

photosynthesis

A

The biochemical process by which light energy is used to convert carbon dioxide and water into complex organic molecules.

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6
Q

stroma

A

The area in the chloroplast outside the thylakoids; site of the carbon reactions of photosynthesis.

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7
Q

thylakoid

A

Continuous internal membrane system of the chloroplast where the light-dependent reactions occur. Stacks of thylakoids are known as grana.

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8
Q

absorption spectrum

A

Graph of the percentage of light absorbed as a function of light wavelength.

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9
Q

action spectrum

A

Graph depicting the efficiency of photosynthesis for an organism across the visible light spectrum.

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10
Q

carotenoid pigment

A

An accessory pigment that absorbs light energy primarily in the purple and blue wavelengths.

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11
Q

chlorophyll a

A

One of the pigments in photosynthesis; absorbs best in the red and purple wavelengths.

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12
Q

chlorophyll b

A

One of the pigments in photosynthesis; absorbs best in the blue and orange wavelengths.

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13
Q

chloroplast

A

Organelle that contains chlorophyll and carries out photosynthesis.

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14
Q

electromagnetic spectrum

A

Full range of electromagnetic energy.

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15
Q

light harvester

A

A pigment that absorbs energy and passes it on to other pigments.

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16
Q

light-harvesting complex

A

A complex of proteins that serves as the light collector of a photosystem.

17
Q

photon

A

A particle of light.

18
Q

photosystem

A

A collection of pigment-protein complexes organized to harvest light energy.

19
Q

pigment

A

A naturally occurring molecule specialized for absorbing light energy and which can be coupled to energy-producing mechanisms in photosynthetic organisms; exists in a variety of types that absorb light at specific wavelengths.

20
Q

reaction center complex

A

Site of the energy-converting reactions of photosynthesis.

21
Q

spectrophotometer

A

An instrument used to measure the amount of light of a given wavelength that a sample absorbs.

22
Q

thylakoid membrane

A

Membrane within the chloroplast in which many photosynthetic pigments are embedded.

23
Q

visible light

A

Narrow portion of the electromagnetic spectrum ranging from 400-700 nm; corresponding to the colors visible to the human eye.

24
Q

wavelength

A

Distance from one wave crest to the next successive wave crest.

25
Q

carbon fixation reactions

A

A collective set of reactions by which the cell converts or fixes inorganic carbon from carbon dioxide into organic carbon.

26
Q

cyclic electron flow

A

A process by which electrons leaving photosystem I are passed back to the cytochrome complex and re-enter photosystem I; generates ATP but not NADPH.

27
Q

glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate

A

A Calvin cycle product; one of the building blocks for carbohydrates.

28
Q

linear electron flow

A

The process by which electrons leaving photosystem II are transferred through electron carriers to photosystem I and ultimately to NADP+ to form NADPH.

29
Q

photophosphorylation

A

The process by which ADP is phosphorylated into ATP using the energy from sunlight.

30
Q

photosystem I

A

A photosystem with an absorption peak at 700 nm; occurs after photosystem II in the photosynthetic electron transport chain.

31
Q

photosystem II

A

A photosystem with an absorption peak at 680 nm; first of the two photosystems in the photosynthetic electron transport chain.

32
Q

primary electron acceptor

A

A modified chlorophyll a molecule that accepts the high-energy electrons at the center of photosystem II.

33
Q

ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase (RuBisCO)

A

An enzyme that binds a carbon dioxide molecule to ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate as it enters the Calvin cycle; the most abundant enzyme on Earth.

Biology 172 - Exam 4 (14 decks)

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