Stephanie Phillips

BIO 203
Lecture Test #1
February 23rd, 2015

1.) Magnesium is extremely important for plants, especially for photosynthesis. It is a large
molecule and is capable of releasing an electron for the light reaction of photosynthesis.
The chlorophyll contains magnesium, which is the reason it is able to capture light from
the sun. Magnesium captures the usable light from the sun and gives chlorophyll its color
by reflecting the wavelength of light that it cannot use, which happens to be green.
2.) Plants avoid the toxic effects of metabolic waste in a few different ways. One way is to
store their waste in dead spaces. Take for an example, a tree. A tree is like a straw and the
inside is alive but the inside is dead, so it stores waste in the dead, inside area. Also,
oxygen is a waste product of photosynthesis and is disposed of through the plants
stomata where the wind will blow it away. However, if the weather conditions are too
calm, oxygen molecules can build up and cause photorespiration. Plants need a little bit
of water, but too much can be detrimental. They can get rid of excess water through
transpiration.
3.) Chemiosmosis occurs in the chloroplast of a plant during photosynthesis. Near the
beginning of the light reaction, photolysis takes place via the oxygen evolving complex
and hydrogen ions, or protons, are released into the lumen where they form a high
concentration proton gradient. Hydrogen ions are also being pumped across the thylakoid
membrane because of the electrons on the electron transport chain. In groups of 3, the
protons travel through an enzyme called ATP synthase. The enzyme acts as a sort of rotor,

and the end product is energy. That energy is then used to help the already existing ADP
and a phosphate group come together and form ATP, which will then go on to the Calvin
cycle.
4.) Unfavorable environmental conditions such as heat, wind, and humidity can increase
water loss through the stomata in several ways. When there is an excessive amount of
heat and light from the sun, water vaporizes almost twice as fast. Wind increases water
loss when a plants stoma is open because it is simply blowing the water away. If
conditions are humid, too much water can build up which lowers the plants transpiration
rate because the water doesnt have anywhere to transpire.
5.) Generally, the stoma of a plant is found in the epidermis, on the underside of the plants
leaf. In order to do gas exchange, guard cells open and close the stoma. If stomata are
found on a plant, it tells the finder that gas exchange is taking place, which will soon lead
to photosynthesis. Factors such as heat, wind, and humidity influence when the guard
cells open and close their stoma.
6.) Plant cells are different than animal cells in several ways. One of the major differences is
that plants have chloroplasts (a type of plastid) and animals dont. Other plastids which
store starch and synthesis fatty acids are present in plants but not in animals. Another
difference is in the cell wall. Plants have a cell wall outside of their cell membrane,
whereas animals only have a cytoskeleton outside of their cell membrane. Also, plants
have a central vacuole which takes up approximately 90 percent of the entire cell, but in
animal cells, there can be one or more vacuoles and they comparatively arent as big.
Plants also have a cytoplasmic connection called plasmodesmata and animals dont.

7.) There are a plethora of carbohydrates that play a critically important role in plants.
Cellulose is the most abundant carbohydrate on earth and is a major component of the
plants cell wall. Its function is to aid in structure and give the cell strength.
Hemicellulose also serves as a structural polysaccharide that is in the cell wall of a plant.
Amylose and fructose are used for storage. Sucrose is used by the plant as its number one
transporter of sugar. Hydrophilic carbohydrates, such as pectin, serve as a plasticity tool,
helping the plant be flexible so that it doesnt tear as it is growing. Plants also have
deoxyribose, which is a 5 carbon carbohydrate that is used in DNA. Glucose is also used
by plants for respiration and storage.
8.) There are several similarities as well as several differences between the xylem and
phloem of a plant. For starters, they are both a part of the complex vascular tissue system.
They also both have parenchyma and sclerenchyma cells as part of their mature
conducting tissue. Another similarity is in their shape. Xylem and phloem are both
shaped like tubes, or straws. Xylem and phloem are both found in all plants. One of the
major differences between them is they primary function. The xylems function is to
move water and minerals around in the plant. Transpiration occurs in the xylem. The
phloems function is to move dissolved solutes, such as sugar, around to different parts of
the plant. Translocation occurs in the phloem. Another major difference is that the cells
that make up the xylem are primarily dead, whereas the cells that make up the phloem are
primarily alive. Another difference is a plants xylem has perforation plates, whereas its
phloem has sieve plates. Xylem is unidirectional phloem is bidirectional.
9.) a.) Photorespiration is a process that occurs in plants during hot and dry conditions. As a
survival technique, plants close their stomata to prevent excessive water loss, which

causes a build-up of O2. The O2 gets in the way of CO2 and RubisCo binds with O2 by
accident. It is very detrimental to a plant that cannot perform an alternate form of
photosynthesis such as C4 and CAM photosynthesis.

b.)

C3
Which group/percent of
plants?

All plants. 85% of

plants exclusively
perform C3

Environmental
conditions?

Cool, moist, and

normal light

Does photosynthesis
occur in one cell or
two?
Which enzyme is the
dominant carbonfixer,
RuBisCo or PEP
carboxylase?
What time of day do
the carbon-fixation
reactions occur?s

C4

CAM

.4% of plants do
C4, but it is mostly
corn and the grass
family
Hot, dry, and
during the summer
are favorable

10% of plants do CAM

photosynthesis
including cacti and
pineapple
Hot and dry

One cell

Two cells

One cell

RuBisCo

PEP carboxylase

PEP carboxylase

Daytime

Daytime

Night time