PHOTOSYNTHESIS

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• ‘Photosynthesis’ - a physico-chemical process
by which they use light energy to drive the
synthesis of organic compounds
• Carbohydrate is synthesized with the help of
light energy in chloroplast
• CO2 is absorbed and O2 is released

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 Early experiments
• Variegated leaf experiment – Photosynthesis
takes part in green parts of the leaves
• Half leaf experiment – CO2 is eeesntial for
photosynthesis
• Joseph Preistley – Bell jar experiments and
discovered oxygen
• Jan Ingenhousz – Sunlight is essential for
photosynthesis

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• Julius Von Sachs – Formation of glucose in the
presence of sunlight
• T W Engleman – Action spectrum with blue
and red light of visible spectrum
• Cornelius Van Neil – Hydrogen from a suitable
source (Water) reduces CO2 to carbohydrates

• Balanced equation of photosynthesis is

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 Site of photosynthesis
• Chloroplast in mesophyll cells of leaves
• Grana – Light / Photochemical reactions
• Stroma – Dark / Biochemical reactions

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 Photosynthetic pigments
• Chlorophyll a – Chief pigment

• Chlorophyll b
• Xanthophylls Accessory pigments
• Carotenoids

Chlorophyll a – Reaction center

Accessory pigments – Antenna or Light Harvesting
Complex (LHC)
PS I – P700
PS II –14/05/2020
P680
 Light reactions
• Shows electron transport system
• Cyclic or Non-cyclic photophosphorylations
Cyclic photophosphorylation:
– Occurs in stromal lamella
– PS I alone is involed
– ATP is formed

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• Non-cyclic photophosphorylation
– Occurs on thylakoid membrane
– Both PS I and PS II are involved
– ATP and NADPH+H+ are formed
– Photolysis of water occurs to replace e- vacancy
– O2 is released
– Also called as Z scheme

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 Chemiosmosis
• ATP formation by proton motive force or proton
driven force
• The H+ difference generated across thylakoid
membrane initiates ATP synthesis
Essentials
• A membrane
• Proton gradient
• Proton pump
• ATPase (Fo – F1)

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 Dark reactions
• Occurs in stroma region
• Light reaction products ATP and NADPH are
used
• CO2 is fixed into carbohydrate in Calvin cycle
or C3 cycle

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 Calvin cycle
• Stages – carboxylation, reduction and
regeneration
• CO2 is fixed by 5C –RuBP by enzyme RuBisCO
• First stable product is 3C –PGA
• To produce 1 glucose
– 6 turns of Calvin cycle
– 18 ATPs
– 12 NADPHs are required

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 Photorespiration
• RuBisCO has carboxylase and oxygenease
properties
• RuBP + O2 → 3 PGA + 2 Phosphoglycolate
• Reduces the efficiency of photosynthesis
• To avoid this C4 plants evolved from C3 plants
and do not show photorespiration
• CAM plants shows desert adaptations

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 Hatch & Slack pathway
• C4 plants like Maize and Shorgum
• Kranz anatomy
• Photosynthesis occurs in mesophyll and bundle sheath
cells
• Chloroplast dimorphism
– Mesophyll – Granal chloroplast
– Bundle sheath cells – Agranal chloroplast
• 3C –PEP is CO2 acceptor in mesophyll and the enzyme
is PEP carboxylase
• First stable product is 4C –OAA
• C3 cycle occurs in bundle sheath cells
• For 1 glucose, 30 ATPs and 12 NADPH are required
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 Factors affecting Photosynthesis
• Light
• Water
• CO2
• Temperature
• Blackmans law of limiting factor
If a chemical process is affected by more than one
factor, then its rate will be determined by the
factor which is nearest to its minimal value:
It is the factor which directly affects the process if
its quantity is changed.

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1. Who first demonstrated that photosynthesis is
essentially a light-dependent reaction in which
hydrogen from a suitable oxidisable compound
reduces CO2 to carbohydrates?
(a) Van Niel (b) Rumen and Kamen
(c) Calvin (d) Priestley

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 OPTION : A

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2. 2H2O → 2 H+ + O2 + 4e-
based on the above equation, where does this reaction
take place in plants?
(a) Nucleus
(b) Mitochondria
(c) Chloroplast
(d) Inner surface of thylakoid membrane

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 OPTION : D

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3. Which pigment acts directly to convert light energy to
chemical energy?
(a) Chlorophyll a (b) Chlorophyll b
(c) Xanthophyll (d) Carotenoid

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 OPTION : A

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4. Which is ‘Reaction centre’ of PS-I?
(a) P690 (b) P682
(c) P700 (d) None of these

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 OPTION : C

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5. Breakdown of proton gradient leads to release of
(a) ADP (b) ATP (c) AMP (d) NADP

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 OPTION : B

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6. During light reaction in photosynthesis the
following are formed.
(a) ATP and sugar
(b) Hydrogen, O2 and sugar
(c) ATP, hydrogen and O2
(d) ATP, hydrogen and O2 donor

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 OPTION : C

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7. The correct sequence of flow of electrons in the light
reaction is
(a) PSII, plastoquinone, cytochromes, PSI, ferredoxin
(b) PSI, plastoquinone, cytochromes, PSII, ferredoxin
(c) PSI, ferredoxin, PSII
(d) PSI, plastoquinone, cytochromes, PSII, ferredoxin

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 OPTION : A

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8. PEP is primary CO2 acceptor in
(a) C4 plants (b) C3 plants
(c) C2 plants (d) Both (a) & (b)

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 OPTION : A

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9.When CO2 is added to PEP, the first stable product
synthesized is
(a) Pyruvate
(b) Glyceraldehyde 3 phosphate
(c) Phosphoglycerate
(d) Oxaloacetate

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 OPTION : D

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10. How many molecules of ATP and NADPH are
required to fix one molecule of CO2 in Calvin cycle?
(a) 3 ATP, 3 NADPH
(b) 2 ATP, 3 NADPH
(c) 3 ATP, 2 NADPH
(d) 3 ATP, 4 NADPH

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 OPTION : C

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11. First carboxylation reaction in sugarcane leaves
occur in:
(a) Mesophyll chloroplast using PEP-carboxylase
(b) Bundle sheath chloroplast using RuBisCO
(c) Either of the two
(d) Both mesophyll and bundle sheath chloroplast

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 OPTION : A

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12. The stomata in CAM plants opens during
(a) Day (b) night
(c) Both (a) and (b) (d) Always remain closed

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 OPTION : B

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13.How many ATP molecules are required by the C4 plants
for the synthesis of a glucose molecule?
(a) 30 ATP (b) 20 ATP
(c) 10 ATP (d) 1 ATP

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 OPTION : A

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14. In formation of 3-PGA in Calvin cycle, the source of
carbon atoms is:
(a) RuBP only (b) RuBP +CO2
(c) CO2 Only (d) RuBP+CO2+PEP

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 OPTION : B

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15. In C4 plants, chloroplasts of bundle sheath cells lack:
(a) Grana (b) Stroma
(c) Chlorophylls (d) All of these

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 OPTION : A

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16. Which reaction is affected to a much lesser extent by
temperature?
(a) Light reaction (b) Dark reaction
(c) Both (a) & (b) (d) None of these

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 OPTION : A

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17. As a compared to a C3 plant, how many additional
molecules of ATP and NADPH are needed for net
production of one molecule of hexose sugar by C4 plants?
(a) 0, 0 (b) 6, 12
(c) 2, 0 (d) 12, 0

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 OPTION : D

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18. Three stages of Calvin cycle are
(a) Carboxylation, oxidation, regeneration
(b) Oxidation, reduction, regeneration
(c) Carboxylation, reduction, regeneration
(d) Oxidation, reduction, carboxylation

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 OPTION : C

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19. Starting point of calvin cycle is :
(a) RuMP (b) RuBP
(c)PGA (d) Oxaloacetic acid

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 OPTION : B

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 Thank
you !

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