Photosynthesis
Process by which plants use the suns energy to turn carbon dioxide into sugar
Law of conservation of mass
Mass cannot be created or destroyed, but it can change form
Potential energy
Stored energy
Kinetic energy
Energy in motion
Visible light
Wavelengths you can see
Ultraviolet light
Wavelength that penetrates living tissue
Infrared
Heat energy
Cyanobacteria
Photosynthetic bacteria
Light independent reactions
Reaction that does not need sunlight
Light dependent reactions
Reaction only occurs when sunlight is available
Stomata
Tiny pores in the leaves
G3P
Carbon sugar
Rubisco
Enzyme that attaches carbon dioxide to a 5-carbon molecule RUBP
Dehydration
Water loss in the stomata
Photorespiration
Oxygen is added to the Calvin cycle instead of carbon dioxide
Amyloplasts
Specialized storage organelles that produce and store starch
For a long time, the conventional wisdom was that plants gained most of their mass by “eating” or absorbing nutrients from soil. In reality, where does most of their mass come from?
Water from soil and carbon from the air— Von Helmont did the “willowtree experiment” to prove this
What is the kinetic energy that plants utilize in photosynthesis? What form of potential energy are they producing?
Conversion of sunlight into glucose; Glucose
What specific wavelengths of energy are utilized in photosynthesis?
Infrared
Write out the complete reaction for photosynthesis. Which reactant molecules provide the atoms of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen needed to synthesize glucose?
Carbon dioxide and H2O are used to make sugar which can then be used to produce starts or cellulose—know it in non word form also
Why is the enzyme RuBisCO called “bridge to life”? What exactly does it do?
Carbon dioxide is considered a lifeless molecule and it attaches to a different molecule
Which pigments of visible light do plants absorb and use for photosynthesis? Which are reflected?
All but green; green
What conditions lead to photorespiration? Why is it considered a wasteful process for plants?
The stomata is closed and no sugar is produced
Compare how C4 and CAM plants are adapted to minimize the costs of photorespiration. Give one example of each.
C4- move the carbon fixation process to the mesophyll. Example- corn
CAM- only open their stomata at night. Example- cactus
What is the Calvin cycle
It uses ATP and NADPH to produce high-energy sugars. The Calvin cycle takes place in the Stroma of chloroplasts and does not require light
What are the four steps of the Calvin cycle
- Six carbon dioxide molecules enter the cycle from the atmosphere. Those six carbon dioxide molecules combined with six 5-carbon molecules. The result is twelve 3-carbon molecules.
- Energy input. Energy from ATP and high-energy electrons from NADPH are used to convert the twelve 3-carbon molecules into higher energy forms
- 6-carbon sugar produced. Two 3-carbon molecules are removed from the cycle to produce sugars, lipids, amino acids, and other compounds
- The 10 remaining three carbon molecules are converted back into six 5-carbon molecules, which are used in the next cycle
Photoautotroph
Self, light, nutrients