Photosynthesis Interactive Part 1 – Jason Bao

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Description of How Photosynthesis Works:

Overall, photosynthesis is the process by which plants convert carbon dioxide, water, and
light energy, into glucose that fuels its activities, releasing oxygen as a byproduct. This important
process occurs in the leaf of a plant, specifically the palisade mesophyll cells at the top of the
leaf. Chloroplast are found in these cells, and they contain green disks called thylakoids that are
home to light dependent reactions and stroma, the fluid surrounding thylakoids and place where
the Calvin Cycle occurs.
 Specifically, light dependent reactions occur on the thylakoid membrane of the
chloroplast. First, light strikes the chlorophyll in photosystem II, causing the electrons to become
excited and gain energy. These electrons leave photosystem II and travel down the proteins of
the electron transport chain. These electrons must be replaced, a process that occurs in step 2 in
which water is split in photolysis to replace these electrons, producing hydrogen ions (H+) and
oxygen. Next, as electrons travel down the chain, their energy is used to pump protons across the
membrane into thylakoid space, leading to a higher concentration of H+ in thylakoid space and
lower concentration in stroma. As such, by the process of facilitated diffusion, H+ moves from
high to low concentration through the ATP Synthase. This diffusion through ATP Synthase
causes it to rotate, generating the mechanical energy to produce ATP, which is later used in the
Calvin Cycle. Later, the electrons continue moving down to the ETC to photosystem I when light
strikes the photosystem to cause the excited electrons to move down the second electron
transport chain to eventually reduce NADP+ to form NADPH. NADPH carries the necessary
electrons to the stroma to be used in the Calvin Cycle.
Next, after the light dependent reactions of photosynthesis, a cycle of light independent
reactions known as the Calvin Cycle occurs in the stroma of the chloroplast. In phase I (Carbon
Fixation), CO2 attaches to RuBP with the enzyme Rubisco, which forms 2 molecules of 3-
phosphoglucerate for each CO2. Then, in phase II (Reduction), each molecule of 3-
phosphoglycerate is reduced to form G3P, a process that requires energy from ATP and electrons
from NADPH that results in the production of 6 G3P. One molecule of G3P will leave the Calvin
Cycle while the other five G3P molecules used to regenerate RuBP so that Calvin Cycle can
continue. Finally, in phase III (Regeneration of RuBP), a series of reactions converts the 5 G3P
into 3 RuBP with the use of ATP, which allows the Calvin Cycle to occur again with carbon
fixation. Once the cycle cycles twice, two molecules of G3P can combine to form one molecule
of glucose and the cycle continues to make organic compounds by reducing carbon dioxide.
As such, photosynthesis is a complex but necessary process that combines a series of
light dependent and independent (Calvin Cycle) processes in order to produce glucose, a
molecule necessary for energy to ensure the proper functioning of all of an organism’s activities.