Unit 3 - Photosynthesis Flashcards
what are the 4 different types of organisms
determined by where the organism gets its carbon
1. autotrophs - able to convert an inorganic form of carbon into an organic form of carbon
2. photo autotrophs - get energy from sunlight, eg. plants and algae
3. chemo autotrophs - get energy from chemical compounds, eg. sulfur oxidising bacteria, nitrogen fixing bacteria and iron oxidising bacteria
4. heterotrophs - organisms that obtain their carbon from organic molecules synthesized by other organisms, eg. animals. fungi, protists, most bacteria
what are the equations of photosynthesis and respiration
Photosynthesis -
Energy + 6CO₂ + 12H₂O = C ₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂ +6H₂O
or Energy + Carbon dioxide + water = Glucose + Oxygen +water
(CO₂ undergoes reduction to glucose, while water undergoes oxidation to oxygen)
Respiration -
C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂ = 6CO₂ +6H₂O + Energy
(glucose undergoes oxidation to carbon dioxide, while Oxygen undergoes reduction to water)
What are the two stages of photosynthesis
- Light dependent/Light capture
- needs sunlight to occur
- energy from sun is captured into usable chemical forms - Light independent/Carbon fixation
- independent of light
- energy is used to synthesize carbohydrates from CO₂
why do cells need light energy
light energy is required for the production of NADPH and ATP, in order to further power the calvin cycle
what is visible light
the portion of electromagnetic spectrum that we can see with our eyes, which includes the range in wavelengths used in photosynthesis
what are pigments
they are molecules that absorb some wavelength of visible light - they look coloured because they reflect light enriched in the wavelengths that they don’t absorb
why do leaves appear green
because chlorophyll, the major photosynthetic pigment is poor at absorbing green wavelengths
What allows chlorophyll to absorb visible light
chlorophyll consists of a light absorbing region that contains magnesium atom at its center and a long hydrocarbon side chain. The large number of alternating double and single bonds surrounding the magnesium atom creates the overlapping electron orbitals that allow for the absorption of visible light
where in the chloroplast is chlorophyll found
it is precisely positioned with intergral membrane proteins
what are photosystems
a protein-pigment complex that absorbs light energy to drive redox reactions and thereby sets the photosynthetic electron transport chain in motion
what are the different forms of chlorophyll and what causes these differences
small differences in the chemical structure between the different types results in differences in their light absorbing properties
1. Chlorophyll a - found in all photosynthetic eukaryotes
2. Chlorophyll b - green algae and land plants
what are accessory pigments
all the light absorbing pigment other than chlorophyll in the photosynthetic membrane
give an eg. of a notable accessory pigment
carotenoids (an orange-yellow pigment) which can absorb wavelengths of visible light that are poorly absorbed by the chlorophyll
why are accessory pigments necessary
allow photosynthetic cells to absorb a broader range of wavelengths than would not be possible with chlorophyll alone
what is antenna chlorophyll
a chlorophyll molecule that absorbs energy from the sunlight and passes it to another chlorophyll molecule during photosynthesis
what does the antenna chlorophyll do
- captures sunlight energy
- electron in energized state
- transfer energy to next antenna chlorophyll
when does this passing of energy between chlorophyll molecules stop
once it reaches a specially configured pair of chlorophyll molecules known as the reaction centre