photosynthesis Flashcards
(42 cards)
photosynthesis is:
the process of making energy from sunlight. sunlight, CO2, and water are used to make sugars with high chemical energy and oxygen.
photosynthesis takes place in:
the chloroplasts.
chloroplast numbers:
- usually 40-200 in a photosynthetic cell
- up to 500 000 chloroplasts in one square millimeter in a regular leaf
thylakoids are/contain:
little disks inside chloroplasts. they contain molecules that absorb solar energy in the thylakoid membrane.
when stacked, thylakoids from:
grana.
stroma:
stroma is the fluid-filled interior that surrounds grana.
inside stroma:
there are enzymes that catalyze the conversion of CO2 and water into carbohydrates.
photons are:
packets of energy that absorb light.
wavelengths of visible light are associated with:
photons carrying different amounts of energy.
shorter wavelength photons:
carry large amounts of energy.
longer wavelength photons:
carry small amounts of energy.
all light travels:
AT THE SAME SPEED
a pigment is:
a compound that absorbs certain wavelengths of visible light.
light-dependant reactions are initiated when:
the pigments in the thylakoid membrane absorb light energy.
the main type of photosynthetic pigment is:
chlorophyll. it’s green!
the types of chlorophyll are:
chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b
chlorophyll is green because:
it absorbs blue and red light and reflects green light.
carotenoids are:
a class of pigments that absorb blue and green light and reflect red, orange, and yellow light.
beta-carotene is:
the pigment that makes carrots orange. can also be converted into vitamin A.
a photosystem is:
a core group of chlorophyll molecules and proteins in the center of the cluster.
when a pigment molecule absorbs a photon:
it passes the energy to a unique pair of chlorophyll a molecules associated with the reaction center.
the reaction center is:
a group of proteins.
the antenna complex is:
a collection of proteins and pigments that capture and funnel light. it includes all the surrounding pigment molecules that gather the light energy.
antenna complexes transfer:
light energy to the reaction center.