Photosynthesis Vocab Flashcards
(20 cards)
an organism that produces its own nutrients from inorganic substances or from the environment instead of consuming other organisms
autotroph
the process by which plants, algae, and some bacteria use sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water to produce carbohydrates and oxygen
photosynthesis
an organism that obtains organic food molecules by eating other organisms or their byproducts and that cannot synthesize organic compounds from inorganic molecules
heterotroph
the initial reactions in photosynthesis, which are triggered by the absorption of light by photosystems I and II and include the passage of electrons along the electron transport chains, the production of NADPH and oxygen gas, and the synthesis of ATP through chemiomosis
light reactions
an organelle found in plant and algae cells where photosynthesis occurs
chloroplast
a membrane system found within chloroplasts that contain the components for photosynthesis
thylakoid
a stack of thylakoids in a chloroplast (plural: grana)
granum
in plants, the solution that surrounds the thylakoids in a chloroplast
stroma
a substance that gives another substance or a mixture its color
pigment
a green pigment that is present in most plant cells, that gives plants their characteristic green color, and that reacts with sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water to form carbohydrates
chlorophyll
a class of pigments that are present in the thylakoid membrane of plants and that aid in photosynthesis
carotenoid
in the thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts, a cluster of chlorophyll and other pigments molecules that harvest light energy for the light reactions of photosynthesis
photosystem
in chloroplasts, an acceptor of electrons lost from chlorophyll a; found in the thylakoid membrane
primary electron acceptor
a series of molecules, found in the inner membranes of mitochondria and chloroplasts, through which electrons pass in a process that causes protons to build up on one side of the membrane
electron transport chain
in chloroplasts and mitochondria, a process in which the movement of protons down their concentration gradient across a membrane is coupled to the synthesis of ATP
chemiosmosis
a biochemical pathway of photosynthesis in which carbon dioxide is converted into glucose using ATP
Calvin Cycle
the synthesis of organic compounds from carbon dioxide, such as in photosynthesis
carbon fixation
one of many openings in a leaf or a stem of a plant that enable gas exchange to occur (plural: stomata)
stoma
a carbon-fixing process in which carbon dioxide is bound to a compound to form a four-carbon intermediate
C4 Pathway
a water-conserving, carbon-fixing process; CAM plants take in carbon at night and fix it into various organic compounds and release it during the day
CAM Pathway
