SB6: plant structures and their functions Flashcards
photosynthesis
a chemical process used by plants to make glucose and oxygen from carbon dioxide and water, using light energy
photosynthesis chemical equation
6CO2 + 6H20 —> C6H1206 + 602
photosynthesis word equation
carbon dioxide + water — sunlight—> glucose + oxygen
what type of reaction is photosynthesis? (endo/exo)
endothermic
endothermic
energy taken in
exothermic
releases energy
what is the main organ for photosynthesis?
leaves
where do the reactants of photosynthesis come from?
carbon dioxide:
-from the air
-enters the leaves through the stomata
water:
-from soil
-enters through roots
-transported to leaves in the xylem
what is the oxygen made by photosynthesis used for?
- respiration
-some plants and algae give out oxygen if the photosynthesis rate was high
what is the glucose made by photosynthesis used for?
respiration
why is glucose important for plants?
-starch (many glucose molecules joined)
-cellulose (many glucose molecules joined)
-lipids
how can the rate of
photosynthesis be measured?
-the rate of oxygen production
-the rate of carbon dioxide uptake
-the rate of glucose production
what factors affect photosynthesis?
-light intensity
-temperature
-carbon dioxide concentration
how does light intensity affect the rate of photosynthesis?
-without enough light, a plant cannot photosynthesise very quickly - even if there is plenty of water and carbon dioxide
-increasing the light intensity increases the rate of photosynthesis, until some other factor - a limiting factor - becomes short in supply
-the rate of photosynthesis is directly proportional to the light intensity (until another factor becomes limiting)
-at very high light intensities, photosynthesis is slowed, but these light intensities do not occur in nature
how does carbon dioxide affect the rate of photosynthesis?
-carbon dioxide is one of the reactants in photosynthesis
-if the concentration of carbon dioxide is increased, the rate of photosynthesis will increase
-at some point, another factor may become limiting
how does temperature affect the rate of photosynthesis?
-the chemical reactions involved in photosynthesis are controlled by enzymes
-as with any other enzyme-controlled reaction the rate of photosynthesis is affected by temperature
-as temperature increases the number of collisions increases, therefore the rate of photosynthesis increases, however, at high temps, enzymes are denatured and this will decrease the rate of photosynthesis
how carbon dioxide concentration affects photosynthesis?
-the higher the carbon dioxide concentration, the faster the rate of photosynthesis is
light intensity and photosynthesis practical: method
- a lamp with an LED bulb (won’t change temperature) is set up at different distances from the plant (pondweed) in a beaker of water
- sodium hydrogen carbonate is added to the water to supply the reactant carbon dioxide to the plant (pondweed)
- the bubbles produced over one minute periods are recorded (the rate of photosynthesis)
light intensity and photosynthesis practical: variables
independent variable: distance from the light source/light intensity
dependent variable: the number of bubbles produced per minute
control variables - concentration of sodium hydrogen carbonate solution, temperature, using the same size/piece of pondweed each time
light intensity and photosynthesis practical: risks
-care must be taken when using water near electrical equipment
-ensure that your hands are dry when handling the lamp
light intensity and photosynthesis:
extension activities
-the volume of oxygen produced could be measured by collecting the gas produced in a gas syringe
-you could investigate the effect of different wavelengths of light on photosynthesis -> use coloured acetate filters to investigate the effects of the blue, green and red parts of the spectrum on photosynthesis
direct proportion
the relation between quantities whose ratio is constant
inverse proportion
a relation between two quantities such that one increases in proportion as the other decreases
inverse square law
light energy is inversely proportional to the square of the distance of the light source from the plant
eg: 2d = 1/4 light intensity (light intensity at
twice the distance away is spread over four times the area
structure of a flowering plant
flower, leaf, stem, roots