Unit 2 Chapter 10: Photosynthesis Flashcards
What is photosynthesis
- the endergonic suite of reactions that reduces carbon dioxide to glucose(or other sugars), O2 and H2O with the help of H2O and light energy
- consists of the light reactions which obviously depend on light and the calvin cycle which depends on the products from the light reactions
What do the light reactions produce
oxygen from H2O, ATP
What does the calvin cycle produce
sugar from CO2
How are the light reactions and calvin cycle linked
by electrons that are released when H2O splits to form O2
What is the electron carrier in photosynthesis
NADPH
Where does photosynthesis occur
chloroplasts
Describe the structure of chloroplasts
filled with vesicle-like thylakoid, which are stacked into grana, inside a thylakoid is the lumen and surrounding the thylakoids is the lumen
How many membranes does a chloroplast have
2 like the mitochondria
Describe chlorophylls
2 types: a and b
- absorb blue and red light, reflect and transmit green light
- give plants their green colour
Describe carotenoids
- absorb blue and green light
- appear yellow, orange or red
- accessory pigments: absorb light and give energy to chlorophyll
- Beta carotenes and xanthophylls
- found in chloroplasts
- extend the range of wavelengths that can drive photosynthesis
- protect chlorophylls by accepting or stabilizing free electrons to prevent free radicals that degrade molecules
- photosynthesis stops without these
What is the action spectrum
wavelengths that drive the light reactions
What are the main photosynthetic pigments
chlorophylls
What are favonoids
- “natural sunscreen”
- accessory pigment that protects plants from radiation by absorbing UV light
- found in vacuoles
- necessary for photosynthesis
What is the structure of chlorophyll a and b
- both have a long isoprene tail, and a head that has a long ring with a magnesium in it where light is absorbed
- a has a CH3, b has a CHO in the same spot
- tail keeps the molecule in the thylakoid membrane
What happens when a photon of light is absorbed by chlorophyll
photons energy is transferred to an electron in the chlorophyll’s head, the electron gets excited and jumps to a higher energy state (only if the difference between its energy states is equal to the energy of the photon)
What happens if an electron simply falls back to its ground state after being excited
energy is released as heat and light; called florescence
What is the antenna complex
proteins and chlorophyll molecules embedded in the thylakoid membrane
What is resonance
when a red or blue photon strikes a pigment molecule in the antenna complex, energy is absorbed and electron is excited
this energy is passed to a nearby chlorophyll where another electron is then excited
-once energy is transferred og electron falls back to ground state