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Photosynthesis

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22 views2 pages

Photosynthesis

Uploaded by

Nguyễn Thiện Dũng
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Photosynthesis

Much of this information is taken from:


http://www.rsc.org/Education/Teachers/Resources/cfb/Photosynthesis.htm

The importance of photosynthesis


Photosynthesis converts the energy of sunlight to the chemical energy that is used in living
systems. The glucose that is formed in photosynthesis can ultimately be converted to any other
organic molecule found in living things. All the food we eat and all the fossil fuels we use as a
source of energy or chemicals have made use of the energy carried by sunlight to form them. In
addition, the oxygen that is found in the atmosphere has come from photosynthesis. Earth’s
original atmosphere was a reducing atmosphere that contained no oxygen.
Green plants, algae and some bacteria use the energy from sunlight to produce glucose from
carbon dioxide and water. Oxygen is also formed. The photosynthetic process may be summarised
by the balanced chemical equation:

Energy from the Sun


6CO2 + 6H2O C6H12O6 + 6O2
Chlorophyll

Leaves and leaf structure


Most plants have leaves as their organs of photosynthesis. A leaf may be viewed as a solar
collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells. The raw materials of photosynthesis, water and
carbon dioxide, enter the cells of the leaf, and the products of photosynthesis, glucose and oxygen,
leave the leaf.
Land plants have evolved specialised structures known as guard cells to allow gases to enter and
leave the leaf. Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf
(cuticle), but it can enter the leaf through a stoma (plural: stomata), flanked by two guard cells.
Likewise, oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened
stomata.
Unfortunately for the plant, a great deal of water can also be lost. Cottonwood trees, for example,
will lose about 450 dm3 of water per hour during hot desert days.
Guard cells are designed to open the stomata
to allow carbon dioxide to enter during
photosynthesis. They close to conserve water
when it stops, for example at night, or when
the plant begins to wilt due to excessive water
loss.

The structure of the chloroplast and


photosynthetic membranes
The thylakoid is the structural unit of SUNLIGHT
photosynthesis. Only eukaryotes have
chloroplasts with a surrounding double
membrane. Thylakoids are piled like
pancakes in stacks known as grana. The
space between the grana is the stroma. Figure Structure of a chloroplast.

1
Chlorophyll
The conversion of usable sunlight energy into chemical energy is associated with the action of the
chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is a mixture of pigments. Several modifications of chlorophyll occur, all
have chlorophyll a. Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb.
Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b, xanthophylls, and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene).
Chlorophyll a absorbs its energy from the violet-blue and reddish orange-red wavelengths, and
little from the intermediate (green-yellow-orange) wavelengths.

More information about the role of chlorophyll can be found in:


PPT Farms, sensors and satellites

The chemical reactions involved in photosynthesis include:


 condensation reactions - responsible for water molecules splitting out;
 oxidation/reduction (redox) reactions involving electron transfer.

Photosynthesis is a two stage process


 The light dependent reactions, a series of reactions which occur in the grana, require the direct
energy of light to make energy-carrier molecules that are used in the second process. They
result in the splitting of water molecules and the transfer of energy to ATP and reduced NADP
(nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate).
 The light-independent reactions happen in the stroma of the chloroplasts. Here, ATP and
NADPH (products of the light-dependent reactions) are used to make carbohydrates from
carbon dioxide (reduction). GALP (glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, a 3-carbon molecule) is
formed in the Calvin Cycle.

The light-dependent reactions


When light energy is absorbed by a chlorophyll molecule its electrons gain energy, are ‘excited’
and move to higher energy levels in the molecule. This is called photoexcitation. Sufficient energy
ionises the molecule, releasing the electron. Chlorophyll is oxidized and has a positive charge. This
is called photoactivation or photoionisation.
Each chlorophyll molecule is associated with an electron acceptor and an electron donor. These
molecules make up the core of a photosystem. Two electrons from photoionised chlorophyll are
transferred to the electron acceptor. The positively charged chlorophyll ion then takes a pair of
electrons from a neighbouring electron donor such as water.
An electron transfer system (a series of chemical reactions) carries the two electrons to and fro
across the thylakoid membrane. The energy to drive these processes comes from two
photosystems:
 Photosystem II (PSII) and
 Photosystem I (PSI).
PSII occurs before PSI. It was the second to be discovered and hence named second.
The energy changes accompanying the two sets of changes make a Z shape when drawn out.
This is why the electron transfer process is sometimes called the Z scheme. Key to the scheme is
that sufficient energy is released during electron transfer to enable ATP to be made from ADP and
phosphate.
A condensation reaction leads to phosphorylation.

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