Topic 6 Flashcards
Give examples of photosynthetic organisms
green plants and algae
How are these photosynthetic organisms the main producers of food?
- They use energy from the sun to make glucose
- some of the glucose is used to make larger, complex molecules that plants/algae need to grow. (these makes up biomass)
- energy stored in biomass works its way through food chains as animals eat them and each other
So photosynthetic organisms are the main producers of food fr nearly all life on earth
Is photosynthesis an endothermic or exothermic reaction?
An endothermic reaction (energy is taken in)
What is the symbol and word equation for photosynthesis?
Carbon dioxide + water (arrow with light and chlorophyll) glucose + oxygen
6CO2 + 6H20 (arrow with light above and chlorophyll below) C6H1206 + 602
What three things are limiting factors on the rate of photosynthesis?
- Temperature
- light intensity
- Conc of CO2
Describe how you could investigate the effect of light intensity on the rate of photosynthesis?
- set up apparatus. gas syringe should be empty at start and sodium hydrogencarbonate could be added to provide plant with CO2
- place source of light at specific distance from PW
- allow PW to photosynthesis for set amount of time
- O2 released will collect in the syringe (volume)
- repeated with light source at different distances
- rate of oxygen produced - volume / time
What should we control during the core practical?
- temperature (by putting flask into a water bath)
- and CO2 conc (adding set amount of sodium hydrogencarbonate to set amount of water)
what is rate of reaction
the rate at which reactant is used up or the rate at which the product is formed
how does CO2 concentration affect the rate of photosynthesis
- CO2 is one of the raw materials needed for photosynthesis
- increasing CO2 concentration increases rate of photosynthesis to a point
- on a graph, the line flattens out, showing that CO2 is no longer a limiting factor
how does light intensity affect the rate of photosynthesis?
- without enough sunlight, a plant cant react quickly no matter how much CO2 there is
- this is because light transfers the energy needed for photosynthesis
- increasing light intensity boosts the rate of photosynthesis
- eventually the line would flatten out on a graph, indicating temp or CO2 level is the limiting factor
how does temperature affect the rate of photosynthesis
- if it gets too hot or cold, the rate of photosynthesis will be low
- but it increases as you reach the middle
- this is because the enzymes in a plant that carry out photosynthesis have an optimum temperature in which that can react the quickest
- temperatures too high denatures them so they dont react as quickly
- and temps too low cause the enzymes to work more slowly
What is the inverse square law?
the law saying that the light intensity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance form the light source
light intensity = 1/distance squared
why is the rate of photosynthesis inversely proportional to the distance of the light source?
Because the the more the distance of the light source increases, the more the rate of photosynthesis decreases
How do root hair cells allow plants to absorb water and minerals?
They give the plant a large surface area for absorbing water (through osmosis) and minerals (through active transport as the conc of minerals is higher in the root hair cells than in the soil)
What is a phloem tube made up of?
columns of elongated living cells with small pores in the end walls to allow stuff to flow through
what is the function of the phloem tube
to transport food substances (mainly sucrose) made in the leaves to the rest of the plant for immediate use or for storage
What is translocation?
A process in phloem tubes that transports sucrose made in the leaves to the rest of the plant for immediate use or for storage. The process requires energy from respiration and the transport goes in both directions
What are xylem tubes made out of?
- They are made out of dead cells joined end to end with no end walls between them and a hole down in the middle.
- They’re strengthened with a material called lignin
What is the main function of xylem tubes?
They carry water and mineral ions from the roots to the stem and leaves
What is the transpiration stream?
- Transpiration is the loss of water from a plant
- The transpiration stream is the movement of water from the roots, through the xylem and out of the leaves
Describe transpiration (process)
1, This is caused by evaporation and diffusion of water from plants surface( mostly happens at leaves)
2. This creates a shortage of water in leaf, and so more water is drawn up from rest of plant through xylem vessels to replace it
3 This means more water is drawn up from the roots, and so theres a constant transpiration stream of water through plant
4. The transpiration stream also carries along mineral ions that are dissolved in the water along with it
What are stomata?
Tiny pores found on the lower surface of leaves
How do stomata relate to gases and transpiration?
They allow CO2 and oxygen to diffuse directly in and out of a leaf. They also allow water vapour to escape during transpiration as the conc of water vapour is higher inside the cell so water escapes through the stomata