Biology – Topic 5 – On the wild side. Photosynthesis Photosynthesis is the process where energy from light is used to break apart strong bonds in H20 molecules – hydrogen is combined with CO2 to form glucose, and O2 is released into the atmosphere. Photosynthesis occurs in a series of reactions, but the overall reaction is: 6CO2 + 6H20 + Energy → C6H12O6 + 6O2 The energy is stored in the glucose until the plants release it by respiration. Plant and animal cells release energy from glucose, this is called respiration. There are two types of respiration: Aerobic (using oxygen) and Anaerobic (no oxygen).
Light is absorbed by chlorophyll, and this causes electrons to jump to a higher electron level and create ATP. ATP and NADPH move to the stomata to take part of the Calvin cycle. During the Calvin cycle, CO2 molecules are turned into organic molecules. The photosynthesis equation is: 6CO2 + 6H2O + sunlight → C6H12O6 + 6 O2 In this experiment, we are going to use leaf disks to measure the net rate of photosynthesis under different light colors. The leaf disks float until their air bubbles are drawn out and replaced with the surrounding solution, causing their density to increase and the disk to sink.
The light-dependent reaction consists of changing light energy to chemical energy for the formation of ATP and NADPH. The light-independent reaction use carbon dioxide and the products of ATP and NADPH from the light-dependent reaction to form glucose (Sadava et al. 2011). The purpose of this experiment is to determine the various ways the rate of photosynthesis is affected by the chloroplast under different treatments. The indictor DCPIP can determine the rate of photosynthesis.
Each of these is converted in a number of steps to pyruvate (another 3-carbon sugar), a process that releases some energy, and a hydrogen atom, which is transferred for use in the respiratory chain by the co-enzyme NAD. The Pyruvate molecules then diffuse into the mitochondrial matrices within the cell. They are then converted to acetyl co-enzyme A (a two-carbon compound) with a Carbon Dioxide (CO2) molecule and a Hydrogen atom (taken up by co-enzyme NAD again) given off. Acetyl Co-enzyme A then enters the Krebs cycle. In this metabolic cycle the 2-carbon acetyl compound dissociates from the co-enzyme A and is converted into a 4-carbon oxaloacetate compound, which in turn is converted into a 6-carbon citrate compound.
The veins in a leaf transport nutrients and water where they are needed and chloroplasts are in a plant’s mesophyll cells, which is where photosynthesis takes place. 6CO2 + 6H2O (+ light energy) C6H12O6 + 6O2 is the formula for the photosynthesis chemical reaction (Carter, 2013). There are actually two steps to the photosynthesis process: in order to convert energy into chemical, a reaction to light takes place within the thylakoid membrane. Beta-carotene, Chlorophyll and other various pigments that are vital to the light reaction are systematized into specific groups within the thylakoid membrane;
Three important cycles in the biogeochemical cycle are the carbon, phosphorus, and nitrogen cycles. Each cycle has their own different roles in the ecosystem. One is in the air, one in the minerals of rocks, and the other one in the soil, and air. The Carbon cycle, which is carbon dioxide, is in the air, and is also used for photosynthesis. Humans, animals, and plants breathe in oxygen, and breathe out carbon dioxide.
Humans in general are diverting or removing 40% of photosynthetic effort of land plants in order to support human enterprises. Burning fossil fuels has amplified atmospheric carbon dioxide by 35% over preindustrial levels. The phosphorus cycle is representative of all the biologically important mineral nutrients- those elements that have their origin in the rock and soil minerals of the lithosphere, such as iron, calcium and potassium. Phosphorus exists in various rock and soil minerals as the inorganic ion phosphate (PO43-). Phosphate is incorporated into many molecules essential for life such as ATP, adenosine triphosphate, which is important in the storage and use of energy.
It is produced by the fermentation of sugars with yeast and is concentrated by distillation to be used as fuel. The fermentation of starch involves the starch being converted into a sugar so it needs to be broken down to simpler glucose molecules through hydrolysis. Starch is converted enzymatically to glucose by an enzyme called amylase. The enzyme is a biological catalyst which speeds up the rate of the reaction. The resulting dextrose from the starch is then fermented into ethanol with the aid of yeast which produces carbon dioxide.
The process of photosynthesis is when plants use the energy in sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and high-energy carbohydrates. Photosynthesis occurs inside a cell organelle called the chloroplast. The chloroplast contains green pigments called chlorophyll, which capture the energy in sunlight. The equation for photosynthesis is as follows: Light 6CO2 + 6H2O à C6H12O6 + 6O2 (Moran 2006) The raw materials needed for photosynthesis are carbon dioxide from the air (taken in through the leaves) and water, usually from the soil (taken in through the roots). The two combine initially to produce simple sugars and oxygen.
A plant has a unique photosynthetic pigment. The leaves of this plant appear to be reddish yellow. What wavelengths Red and Yellow An outcome of this experiment was to help determine the relationship between wavelengths of light and the oxygen released during photosynthesis As a research scientist you measure the amount of ATP and NADPH consumed by the Calvin cycle in 1 hour cyclic electron flow Assume a thylakoid is some how punctured so that the interior of the thylakoid is no longer separated from the stroma the synthesis of ATP Describe the calvin cycle in general terms The Calvin cycle is a metabolic pathway found in the stroma of the chloroplast in which carbon enters in the form of CO2 and leaves in the form of sugar. Describe the figure Describe the relationship between the light reactions and the calvin cycle ATP and NADPH During photosynthesis visible lights has enough energy to excite electrons. split a water molecule into hydrogen and oxygen.