Photosynthesis - Part I

Compounds You Need to Know:

1.

Carbon dioxide

2.

Dihydrogen monoxide

3.

Oxygen

4.

Glucose or Fructose

5.

Phosphoglyceric acid

6.

Phosphoglyceraldehyde

7.

Ribulose 1, 5 diphosphate / Ribulose biphosphate

8.

Adenosine diphosphate

9.

Adenosine triphosphate

10.

Nicotinamide dinucleotide phosphate

ADP vs ATP

Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis: The study of light energy.

A.

Autotrophs (producers) - organisms that help trap light energy and
convert it to chemical energy (carbohydrates) during photosynthesis.

B.

Autotrophs are organisms that make their own food.
a.How is this possible?

They use sunlight.

b.

The light (visible light) spectrum:

R

O

Y

G

B

I

V

●Red is the weakest light. It has the longest wavelength.

●Violet is the strongest light. It has the shortest wavelength.

Photosynthesis

●Chlorophyll along with accessory pigments absorb and trap this light
energy from the sun. You see plants as a green color because green is the
color of the spectrum that is being reflected.

●Photosynthesis involves the light and the dark reactions. Its rate is
affected by:

○The amount of water (H2O)

○The amount of carbon dioxide (CO2)

○The amount of Phosphorus (P)

○The Enzymes that are available

A Closer Look at the Light Reaction

“The trapping of energy and splitting of water”

Chlorophyll is one of the top 5 biological compounds along with ATP, DNA,
RNA, and water.

There are 2 types of chlorophyll:

Chlorophyll A - which is blue green in color

Chlorophyll B - which is yellow green in color.