Feb 2013 Biology I

 Plants and some other types of organisms are able to use light energy from the sun to produce food.  Organisms, such as plants, which make their own food, are called autotrophs.  Other organisms, such as animals, cannot use the sun’s energy to make their own food— these are known as heterotrophs. They get energy from the foods they consume.

 Cell activity is powered by chemical fuels. One of the principle compounds living things use is adenosine triphosphate (also known as ATP).  Composed of adenine(which contains nitrogen), ribose(5-ring sugar), and three phosphate groups. Adenine Ribose Phosphate Groups (3)

Adenosine Diphosphate (ADP) is similar to ATP but it only has two phosphate groups instead of three. When cells have energy available, they can store small amounts of energy by adding a phosphate group to ADP molecules, as shown in the picture.

 Definition: The process by which plants and some other organisms use light energy to power chemical reactions that convert water and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) into oxygen(O 2 ) and high-energy carbohydrates such as sugars and starches.  The following experiments have contributed to the modern understanding of the process of photosynthesis.

 Jan van Helmont’s Experiment: He devised an experiment to find out if plants grew by taking material out of the soil. He planted a seedling and watered it regularly.  After 5 years he concluded that most of the mass of the now 75kg tree, had come from water, because that was the only thing he added to the pot.  He gave us the “hydrate” part of carbohydrate, but where did the carbo- come in?

 Joseph Priestley’s Experiment: After placing a candle in a glass jar, he watched the flame gradually die out! He reasoned that something in the air was necessary to keep the flame burning. When the substance was used up, the candle went out.  That substance was oxygen.  He also found that if he placed a live sprig of mint under the jar and allowed a few days to pass, the candle could be relight and would remain lighted for a while. The mint leaf released oxygen.

 Jan Ingenhousz’s Experiment: He expanded on Priestly’s experiment by showing that the candle could remain burning only if the plant was exposed to light.  The experiments performed by van Helmont, Priestley, Ingenhousz, and other scientists reveal that in the presence of light, plants transform carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates and release.

 LEARN BOTH OF THESE: 6CO 2 + 6H 2 O → C 6 H 12 O 6 + 6O 2 Carbon dioxide + water → sugar + oxygen  Photosynthesis uses the energy of sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and high-energy sugar. light

 In addition to water and carbon dioxide, photosynthesis requires light and chlorophyll, a molecule in chloroplasts.  Plants gather the sun’s energy with light- absorbing molecules called pigments. The plants’ principal pigment is chlorophyll  There are two main types of chlorophyll: chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b.

Notice how chlorophyll a absorbs light in the violet and red regions of the visible spectrum, and chlorophyll b absorbs light in the blue and red regions of the visible spectrum

 In plants and other photosynthetic eukaryotes, photosynthesis takes place inside chloroplasts.  Chloroplasts contain saclike photosynthetic membranes called thylakoids.  Thylakoids are arranged in stacks known as grana (plural) or granum (singular).  Thylakoids contain clusters of chlorophyll and other pigments and proteins known as photosystems that capture the energy of sunlight.  The Calvin cycle takes place in the stroma, the region outside the thylakoid membranes.

A. Light is absorbed by chlorophyll or other pigments in photosystem II. (inner thylakoid space) B. High-energy electrons from photosystem II move through the electron transport chain in photosystem I. The molecules in the electron transport chain use energy from the electrons to transport H+ ions from the stroma into the inner thylakoid. C. As in photosystem II, pigments add energy from light to the electrons. The high energy electrons are then picked up by NADP+ to form NADPH.

D. The inside of the thylakoid membrane fills up with H+ ions. This action makes the outside of the thylakoid membrane negatively charged and the inside positively charged. E. As H+ ions pass through ATP synthase, it converts ADP to ATP. Please note: NADP + is nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate. It is a carrier molecule that picks up 2 high energy electrons along with H+.

Please note that this picture is upside down! The thylakoid space is at the bottom!

A. Six carbon dioxide molecules are combined with six 5-carbon molecules to produce twelve 3-carbon molecules. B. Energy from ATP and high-energy electrons from NADPH are used to convert the twelve 3-carbon molecules into higher-energy forms. C. Two 3-carbon molecules are used to make a 6- carbon sugar. D. The ten remaining 3-carbon molecules are converted back into six 5-carbon molecules, which are used in the next cycle.

Twelve 3- carbon molecules Ten 3- carbon molecules Six 5- carbon molecules 12 ATP 12 ADP 12 NADPH 12 NADP+ Two 3- carbon molecules One 6-carbon sugar 6 ATP 6 ADP 6 carbon molecules and CO 2 A B C D