PHOTOSYNTHESIS: FROM LIGHT TO FOOD

PHOTOSYNTHESIS CONVERTS SOLAR ENERY INTO

CHEMICHAL ENERGY
Solar energy is light energy that comes from the sun
and turns into chemical energy (stored in food –
glucose/ sugar)

Cells need energy to perform its chemical activities

DIFFERENT WAYS ON HOW TO OBTAIN ENERGY

 photosynthesis nourishes almost the entire
living world directly or indirectly
 autotrophs make their own food
o also called producers; i.e. plants
o include photoautotrophs or
chemoautotrophs
 heterotrophs depend on other organisms for
food
o also called consumers; i.e. animals
o include herbivores, carnivores,
omnivores, decomposers
 leaves are the major sites of photosynthesis in
plants
o part of the plant were photosynthesis
occurs

 mesophyll tissue in the leaf contains lots of

chloroplasts

 within the chloroplasts - organelle that is

responsible in the process of photosynthesis
(double membrane) are the thylakoids
o looks like a coin
o which may be stacked together
(arranged in stacks) into grana/ granum
o chlorophyll can be seen in the thylakoid
membrane
o photosynthetic pigments are located in
the thylakoid membrane

Cyanobacteria – microorganisms (reason why the  between thylakoids is a fluid-filled space called
oxygen gas increase in the atmosphere) stroma
o CO2 enters (and O2 exits) the leaf via the
Oxygen – byproduct of Photosynthesis stoma
Sugar/ glucose – product of Photosynthesis, main
product (food of the plant)

Plants are the major producers in terrestrial ecosystems

RAW MATERIALS FOR PHOTOSYNTHESIS (abiotic

factors – for non-living)
 sunlight – pigments
o chlorophyll – responsible in capturing
sunlight
 CO2 – stomata/ stoma
o leaves of the plants – where gas
exchange occurs or takes place, where
carbon dioxide will enter and oxygen
will exit
 H2O – roots
o where water is absorbed
PHOTOSYNTHESIS IS A SERIES OF COMPLEX REACTIONS
 ultimately leads to the reduction of CO2 into
sugar (i.e. glucose) and oxidation of H2O into O2
 The chemical equation of photosynthesis is an
example of Redox Reaction in which carbon
dioxide reduced into sugar/ glucose. Water
loses electrons and oxidized into oxygen
o Reduction – gaining electrons
o Oxidation – losing electrons

raw materials products

PHOTOSYNTHESIS IS A 2-STAGE PROCESS
1. Light Reactions (light dependent reaction -
photo part)
o occurs when there is sunlight – they
need light energy to take place
o occurs in the thylakoids (pigments that
capture light energy)
o split H2O – needed in the light reaction
o release O2 – due to the splitting of
water (byproduct of photosynthesis)
o reduce NADP (energy carrying molecule
– oxidized form is the NADP+, it then
returns to NADPH when NADP+ gains
electrons)
 NADPH means Nicotinamide
adenine dinucleotide
phosphate
PHOTOSYNTHESIS: THE LIGHT REACTIONS
THE LIGHT REACTIONS CONVERT LIGHT ENERGY INTO
CHEMICAL ENERGY OF ATP AND NADPH
 chloroplasts are solar-powered chemical
factories
o their thylakoids (pigments) transform
light energy into the chemical energy of
ATP and NADPH
o light is a form of electromagnetic
energy, arranged in an electromagnetic
spectrum
o wavelength determines the type of
electromagnetic energy (plant captures
the light energy from the visible light)
o visible light consists of wavelengths –
represented by colors (including those
that drive photosynthesis) that produce
colors we can see

o produce ATP (energy carrying molecule

– oxidized form is the ADP) by
photophosphorylation (using the
energy of sunlight, we can convert ADP
into ATP)
 ATP means Adenosine
Triphosphate

2. Calvin Cycle (light independent reaction/ dark

reaction - synthesis part)
o Discovered by Melvin Calvin
o occurs in the stroma where the oxygen
will be released in the atmosphere
 photosynthetic pigments in the thylakoids
o converts CO2 into sugar “food” using
absorb visible light
ATP and NADP
o different pigments absorb different
wavelengths
 short wavelength = high energy
 long wavelength = low energy

 spectrophotometer measures a pigment’s

ability to absorb various wavelengths
o device that precisely measures
electromagnetic energy at specific
wavelength of light

 an absorption spectrum is a graph plotting a

pigment’s light absorption versus wavelength
 an action spectrum profiles the relative
effectiveness of different wavelengths of
radiation in driving a process of photosynthesis
o graph that shows all the light that is
actually used in photosynthesis
 Engelman’s experiment
o Engelman tries to show in his
experiment that photosynthesis and
oxygen production are dependent on
the wavelength of light
o Attracted mainly in blue and red light
 chlorophyll a is the main photosynthetic
pigment
 chlorophyll b and carotenoids are accessory
pigments
 when a pigment absorbs light, it goes from a
ground state to an excited state, which is
unstable
o When energy is given to the chlorophyll
 when excited electrons fall back to the ground
state, photons are given off, an afterglow called
fluorescence (light reemitted by chlorophyll
molecule during return from exited state to
ground state)
o ejected energy and electrons
2 TYPES OF PHOTOSYSTEM
Have different pigments that absorb different
 Photon/s – packets of energy
wavelengths of light
 photosystem consists of a reaction center
complex and light-harvesting complexes
o home of the thylakoids (membrane)
o functional unit of photosynthesis
o reaction center complex contains the
main pigment (chlorophyll a molecule –
special pair of chlorophyll molecules)
and primary electron acceptor
o light-harvesting complexes capture and
transfer solar energy to the main
pigment
 The green part – as chlorophyll
molecule captures light energy/
photons it will transfer from
one molecule to another until it
reached the main pigment
(chlorophyll a molecule)
 absorption of enough energy excites and ejects
electrons from the main pigment
 ejected electrons are captured by the primary
electron acceptor and begins the light reactions
1. Photosystem II (PS II)
o absorbs wavelength 680 nm (red light)
o main pigment is called P680
a. Units of light – cold photons strike a
molecule of chlorophyll in PS II. From 1
chlorophyll there is a transfer of energy
until it reaches the P680 (main pigment
– special pair of chlorophyll a
molecules)
 b. will release/ eject electrons and accept
energy/ electrons from the transferred
energy of one chlorophyll to another
(primary electron acceptor)
c. Water molecule splits apart and
produces
 2 electrons - replaced the
electron loss of chlorophyll a
and PS II during the light
absorption.
 From the splitting of water
molecule, it produces hydrogen
plus (2H+ - a positive charge and
a release inside the interior
space of the thylakoid
membrane.)
 From the splitting of water
molecules, 1 oxygen atom is
released that combines with
another oxygen atom producing
1 oxygen molecule (O2) which is
released to the atmosphere as a
waste product.
d. Now, there is an energy in the primary
electron acceptor – the energy will pass
to an electron transport chain ( this
chain moves electron from PS II to PS I,
PQ (Plastoquinone) then to the
Cytochrome Complex and to the PC
(Plastocyanin). As the 2 electron pass
through the electron transport chain,
their energy is captured and is used to
pump more hydrogen ions in the
interior of the thylakoid membrane.
 Chemiosmotic gradient – when
there are more positively
charged hydrogen ions or H+
(the greater concentration of
hydrogen ions and its positive
charge). These causes the
hydrogen ions to flow back
from interior space to the
stroma (they will go through
the ATP synthase – channel
protein that helps the ions cross
the thylakoid membrane).
e. Because of this, it powers the ADP to
reduce or gain electron inorganic
phosphate to form ATP by
Chemiosmosis (flow of electrons
provides energy by producing ATP)
f. When the electrons reach the PS I, the
electrons are no longer excited.
2. Photosystem I (PS I)
o absorbs wavelength 700 nm (far-red
light)
o main pigment is called P700
f. Because there are no energy, pigments
capture light energy and transfer
molecules until it reaches the
chlorophyll a (main pigment – P700)
and it will be accepted by the primary
electron acceptor
g. The 2 electrons will go through the
electron transport chain (Fd –
Ferredoxin). Because of the 2 electrons,
they drive the NADP+ reductase
(enzyme that powers the NADP+ to bind
with H+ to become NADPH.)
h. At the end of light reaction, we have:
ATP and NADPH
 ATP is produced from
Chemiosmosis (energy that
produces/ pump H+).
 The energy that captures by the
PS I, and the gaining electrons
of NADP+ that is reduced to
form NADPH.
i. ATP and NADPH will go to another
cycle/ stage of light of photosynthesis.
The Calvin cycle.
PHOTOSYNTHESIS: THE CALVIN CYCLE
THE CALVIN CYCLE USES ATP AND NADPH FROM LIGHT
REACTIONS TO REDUCE CO2 TO SUGAR
Discovered by Melvin Calvin, because of his discovery,
he won a noble price in 1961
Also called dark reaction because, these stages occur
without the direct use of energy from light (light
independent reaction)
 Occurs in the stroma, and only needs 3 raw
materials for it to occur
1. ATP
2. NADPH
3. CO2
 Calvin cycle is a 3-step process
1. carbon fixation
2. reduction
3. regeneration of RuBP (Ribulose
Bisphosphate/ Rubisco) – these
compound will help to fix carbon in the
carbon dioxide compound because, the
carbon dioxide gas is not yet fixed. In
the last step of the cycle, we need to
 regenerate RuBP for that the cycle will c. Regeneration of 5 carbon atoms of RuBP
continue on and on.  In this reaction we need energy
(ATP).
 carbon enters the Calvin cycle in the form of  Then the cycle will continue again
CO2 and leaves in the form of sugar called and again
glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (G3P)
(carbohydrate precursor of sugar and glucose –
raw form of sugar), sugar is the output of the
Calvin cycle

 For net synthesis of 1 G3P, the cycle turns 3

times, fixing 3 molecules of CO2 (note that the
Calvin cycle turns one at a time).
o To form 1 G3P, it needs 3 CO2. Because
of this, the Calvin cycle need to cycle 3
times.

a. Carbon fixation (phase I)

 The C of CO2 should be fixed,
because it will be used for every
cycle. Remember the number of
atoms (the circle in the chain is the
number of carbon that is in a
compound). The RuBP (5 carbon
atom) will fix the CO2 gas.
 After the fixing, it forms an unstable
6 carbon molecule and is
immediately broken down into 3 –
Phosphoglycerate (3 PGA)

b. Reduction Reaction (phase II)

 The 3 PGA molecules gains energy,
these uses ATP and NADPH in order
to form the compound 1, 3-
Bisphosphoglycerate and, will form
Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (G3P).
 G3P is the sugar output of the
Calvin cycle, the G3P that is left is
used for the next stage which is the
regeneration of the Carbon dioxide
acceptor (RuPB).