The Leaf and Photosynthesis

http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/forestbiology/photosynthesis.swf
 PHOTOSYNTHESIS

·process where energy from sunlight ("photo") is used to make ("synthesis")

food (glucose, a carbohydrate)

·light energy chemical energy

·bonds made, storing energy

 Photosynthesis equation:

sunlight

carbon + water glucose + oxygen + wa

dioxide chlorophyll

LOW ENERGY HIGH ENERGY

What kind of reaction is this?

What parts of the plant are involved in the reaction?

sunlight

carbon + water glucose + oxygen

dioxide chlorophyll

6 CO2 + 6 H2O C6H12O6 + 6 O2

from air from soil stored as released to air

via stomata via roots starch in leaves via stomata in
in leaves leaves
Where in the plant cell does
this process occur?
 Chloroplasts

Contain green photoreceptor pigment, chlorophyll.

Found in the ground tissue of leaves and stems.
The site of photosynthesis
 Chloroplasts
• Photosynthesis mainly
happens in the leaves of
plants.
• What 4 things does a
leaf need to perform
photosynthesis?
• Sunlight, water, CO2,
chlorophyll
• Chloroplasts are a
membrane bound
organelle that carries out
photosynthesis.
 Chloroplasts
• Found in leaves, and
unripened fruit.
• These are the only areas
that can perform
photosynthesis.
• Has an outer and an
inner membrane that
hold the chloroplast
together.
 Chloroplasts
• The medium inside the chloroplast is called the stroma.
• The stroma is filled with proteins, and is a very thick almost solid
liquid.
 Cytoplasmic Streaming

·Movement of the cytoplasm and its contents

·Circulates materials throughout the cell
·First seen by Robert Hooke
·Chloroplasts move this way in reaction to light

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8edk6nGMwMs
Let's examine the special
conditions required for the
photosynthesis reaction:
 LIGHT ENERGY AND PHOTOSYNTHESIS

Light energy travels in waves. Sunlight is white light, which is a

combination of all the colours of the rainbow.

The different colours are: Red

Orange
Yellow

Is chlorophyll sensitive to all the Green

Blue
colours of the spectrum? Indigo
Violet
 Chlorophyll absorbs energy from the blue and red
regions of the light spectrum, and reflect (absorb almost none)
of the yellow and green light
 How is the leaf perfectly designed to maximize
exposure to light?

Where exactly is the light

reaction occurring?

http://www.fw.vt.edu/dendro/forestbiology/photosynthesis.swf
 Photosynthesis

• Photosynthesis can be
broken down into two
separate reactions
– Light reaction
• Energy and oxygen
are made in this
reaction
– Dark reaction
• Glucose is made in
this reaction
 Cellular Respiration

·For energy that cells can use to function

·Energy released by breaking bonds
·Occurs in both cytoplasm and mitochondria
C6H12O6(aq) + 6O2(g) 6CO2(g) + 6H2O(l)

·What kind of reaction is cellular respiration?

The inner membrane is the site of

many cell resp reactions - why is it so
folded?
Comparing Photosynthesis and Cellular
Respiration