Lecture 2: LIGHT

REACTION
 OBJECTIVES
Upon comprehension of this lecture, students
would be able to explain
1.The characteristics of light as a source of
energy in the process of photosynthesis
2.The process of NADPH formation in the
conversion of radiation energy to be chemical
energy
3.The process of ATP formation in the
conversion of radiation energy to be chemical
energy
LECTURE FLOW
What is photosynthesis?
 The process of converting solar energy
into chemical energy.
 The process of CO2 reduction into
carbohydrates (sugars) at the expense of
NADPH & ATP
 Responsible for removal of ~ 200 billion
tons of C from the atmosphere yearly.
 Primary
electron NADP
acceptor

Primary Energy
electron to make 3
acceptor
2

Light
Ele
c tr o
nt
r an
sp
o rt
Light ch
a in Primary
electron
acceptor PS I
Reaction-
center
chlorophyll
PS II NADPH-producing
photosystem
1

Water-splitting
photosystem
2 H + 1/2

How the Light Reactions Generate NADPH and ATP

 Solar energy is the ultimate source of energy for
life on earth
 Solar energy is created at the core of the sun
when hydrogen atoms are fused into helium by
nuclear fusion .
 Temperatures of the sun are
 about 15,000,0000K at the core,
and
 about 5,8000K at the photosphere
(radiative surface of the sun)
 The solar energy is then transmitted in the form of
electromagnetic radiation
 Radiation is the transfer of energy through some
material or through space in the form of
electromagnetic waves
 Electromagnetic waves are the self-propagating,
mutual oscillation of electric and magnetic fields.
Electromagnetic waves move electromagnetic energy
through space (either empty or filled with transparent
matter)
 Most of the electromagnetic radiation emitted
from the sun's surface lies in the visible band
centered at 500 nm
 Longest wavelengths Shortest wavelengths
(Least energetic photons) (Most energetic photons)

The Electromagnetic Spectrum

 The Sun appears to have been active for 4.6
billion years and has enough fuel to go on for
another five billion years or so.
 At the end of its life, the Sun will start to fuse
helium into heavier elements and begin to swell
up, ultimately growing so large that it will
swallow the Earth.
 After a billion years as a red giant, it will suddenly
collapse into a white dwarf -- the final end
product of a star like ours. It may take a trillion
years to cool off completely.
 2.1 Stefan–Boltzmann Law
 This law states that the power emitted per
unit area of the surface of a black body is
directly proportional to the fourth power of
its absolute temperature. That is
R=T4
R = radiation flux (W.m-2 = J.m-2.s-1)
 = emissivity (01)
 = Stefan-Boltzmann constant (5,67032 x 10-8 W.m-2.K-4)
T = absolute temperture (273 + 0C).
 Apply Stefan-Boltzmann Law To Sun and Earth
R=T4
 Sun (6000 0K)
RS = (5.67 x 10-8 W/m2 K4) * (5800 0K)4
= 64,164,532 W/m2
 Earth (300 0K)
RE = (5.67 x 10-8 W/m2 K4) * (300 0K)4
= 459 W/m2
 Sun emits about 160,000 times more radiation
per unit area than the Earth because Sun’s
temperature is about 20 times higher than
Earth’s temperature 600/300 = 20
 Inverse Square Law
The amount of radiation passing through a specific area is
inversely proportional to the square of the distance of that
area from the energy source.
I = E(4R2)/(4r2)
I = Irradiance at the surface of
the outer sphere
E = Irradiance at the surface of
the object (Sun)
R = 6.96 x 105 km (Radius of the Sun)
r = 1.5 x 108 km (Average Sun-Earth Distance)
I = 64,164,532 W/m2 x(6.96 x 105 )2 /(1.5 x 108 )2
I = 1382 W/m2 (The generally accepted solar constant of
1368 W/m2 is a satellite measured yearly average)
 Radiation emitted by a human body
 The net power radiated is the difference between
the power emitted and the power absorbed:
Pnet = Pemit − Pabsorb.
 Applying the Stefan–Boltzmann law,
R = (T4-T04)
A = the total surface area of an adult is about 2 m²,
 = the mid- and far-infrared emissivity of skin and
most clothing is near unity, as it is for most
nonmetallic surfaces.
T = skin temperature is about 33°C, but clothing reduces
the surface temperature to about 28 °C when the
ambient temperature is 20 °C.
T0 = the ambient temperature is about 250C in Malang
 Hence, the net radiative heat loss is about
 Pemit =
0.97* 5.67×10−8 W m−2 K−4 *2 m2(273+28)4
= 902.92 W.m-2 or J.s-1
 Pabsorbed =
0.97* 5.67×10−8 W m−2 K−4 *2 m2(273+27)4
= 890.98 W.m-2 or J.s-1
 Pnet = 902.92-890.98 = 11.94 J.s-1
 11.94 x 24 hours x 60 minutes x 60 seconds =
1,031,556.8 J/day
 WHY ARE
PLANTS (leaves)
GREEN?
Why are plants green? t
gh
li
c ted
efle Transmitted light
R
 Photosynthetic Pigments:
The light Receptors
 Why leaves are green
 interaction of light
with chloroplasts.
 The chlorophyll
molecules of
chloroplasts absorb
Violet-blue and red
light (the colors most
effective In driving
photosynthesis) and
reflect or transmit
green light.
 This is why leaves
appear green
 2.2 Light
 Light is an electromagnetic wave
 What is the electromagnetic wave?
 It is electricity and magnetism moving through the
space
 Light was known to
be a wave
 After producing
electromagnetic
waves of other
frequencies, it was
known to be an
electromagnetic wave
as well.
 LIGHT AS A WAVE
 Wavelength (l) – the distance between crests (or
troughs) of a wave
 Frequency (v) – the number of crests (or troughs)
that pass by each second.
 Speed (c) – the rate at which a crest (or trough)
moves (3.105 km/s). Crest
l
• Maxwell calculated the speed of
propagation of electromagnetic
waves and found: Trough

This is the speed of light in a vacuum.

 2.3 Quantum Theory
Light as particles
• Light comes in quanta of energy called photons – little
bullets of energy.
• A photon is a quantum or irreducible quantity of
electromagnetic radiation.
• By the 1900's the wave model was accepted by
scientist as how light moved.
• Ideas of quantum theory were developed when
classical physics (the wave model) could not explain
several physical phenomena observed in beginning of
the 20th century
 light until further heating, then it will glow red, yellow then
"white" hot.
 It also did not explain colors given off by various elements as
they burn
 Planck's Theory
 Energy cannot be absorbed or emitted
unless it is a complete packet.
 Planck's theory states that atoms can
only absorb or release energy in fixed
quantum units
• The amounts of energy an object emits or absorbs are
called quantum (quanta plural)
• Related the Frequency of the radiation to the amount of
energy.
E = hν = hc/
Frequency (v) = c/
h = 6.6262 x 10-34 J-s (joule-seconds)
c = speed of light (3x108 [m/s)
Visible radiation: visible to our eyes
(wavelength :0.4x10-6 - 0.7x10-6 m)

Red = 0.65 mm, Orange = 0.60 mm, Yellow = 0.55 mm,

Green = 0.50 mm, Blue = 0.45 mm & Violet = 0.40 mm

Cahaya dan PAR

• Tanaman dalam proses fotosintesis hanya dapat
memanfaatkan pancaran radiasi matahari yang terletak
pada batas panjang gelombang 400 - 700 nm
• Radiasi pada batas panjang gelombang 400 - 700 nm
disebut PAR (photosynthetically active radiation) atau
cahaya nampak (visible radiation)
 Dengan memasukkan harga-harga konstanta,
maka

19,878.10 17 J
E

dimana  dalam satuan nano meter (nm)
 Sebagai contoh, kandungan energi cahaya
merah ( = 680 nm) adalah

1 J (Joule) = 107 erg; 1 c (cal) = 4,2 J; 1 eV

= 1,6.10-12 erg
 A.h.c
E
where 
A is Avogadro's number (= 6.02 x 1023 photons/mol)
h is Planck's constant (= 6.62 x 10 -34J s per photon)
c is the speed of light (= 3 x 108 m.s-1).
 
For instance,
 the energy of "green light" (= 550 nm) is:

E
A  6.02.10 23
photons mol h  6.62.10 34 J.s photonc  3.108 m s 
  550.10 9 m

 E = 217376.7 J.s
 a mol of blue light (l = 400 nm) = 298893.0 J.s
 a mol of red light (l = 700 nm) = 170796.0 J.s
 l

Summary of Photons
 Photons can be treated as
“packets of light” which behave
as a particle. Representation of a Photon

 To describe interactions of light with matter, one

generally has to appeal to the particle (quantum)
description of light
 A single photon has an energy given by
E = hc/
where
h = Planck’s constant = 6.6x10-34 [J s]
c = speed of light = 3x108 [m/s]
 = wavelength of the light (in [m])
 Photons also carry momentum. The momentum is
related to the energy by:
p = E/c = h/
 The reduction of CO2 to be carbohydrate
through photosynthesis requires energy
(NADPH & ATP)
 Photosynthesis can be divided into two
reactions
 Light Reaction
 Generation of NADPH2
 Generation of ATP
 Dark Reaction
 Diffusion of CO2
 Reduction of CO2
 C3, C4 & CAM
 Light Reaction
1. Light Absorption
2. Pigments
3. Electron Excitation
 Fluorescence
 Phosphorescence
4. Electron transfer & Synthesis NADPH
5. Proton exchange & Synthesis ATP
 Photosynthesis is the process by which autotrophic
organisms use light energy to make sugar and
oxygen gas from carbon dioxide and water

 This is an over simplification approach as H2O never

meets CO2 directly in the photosynthesis
 Chloroplasts
 In most plants, photosynthesis occurs primarily in
the leaves, in the chloroplasts
• The leaves have the most chloroplasts
• The green color comes from chlorophyll in the
chloroplasts
• The pigments absorb light energy
 A chloroplast contains:
 Stroma (a fluid)
 Grana (stacks of thylakoids)
 The thylakoids contain
chlorophyll
 Chlorophyll is the green pigment
that captures light for
photosynthesis
 The location and structure of chloroplasts
Chloroplast
LEAF CROSS SECTION MESOPHYLL CELL
LEAF

Mesophyll

CHLOROPLAST Intermembrane space

Outer
membrane

Granum Inner
membrane
Grana Stroma Thylakoid
Stroma Thylakoid compartment
1. Light Absorption
2. Electron Exitation
Fluorescence
Phosphorescence.
3. Electron Transfer
4. NADPH Synthesis
LIGHT ABSORBTION
AND TRANSFER
TO THE REACTION
CENTERS
 Resonance Energy Transfer - Radiationless

e- e-
Excited state e- e-

hv

e- e- e- e-

Ground state
 Pigment = a light absorbing molecule
 Associated with the thylakoid
membranes
 Chlorophyll
 Chl a and Chl b (Chl c in some algae)
 Xanthophylls
 Carotenoids
 ß-carotene
Phytol
  Absorpsi foton mengakibatkan pengaturan
elektron intramolekul pada pusat reaksi yang
diikuti dengan tranfer elektron antar molekul
 Pada mulanya, elektron
khlorofil pada pusat
reaksi tereksitasi pada
orbit yang menjauhi inti
atom dan molekul dengan
absorpsi foton langsung
atau lebih mungkin
melalui transfer energi
foton dari antena
pigmen
 Two types of
photosystems
cooperate in the
light reactions

Photon
ATP
mill
Photon

Water-splitting NADPH-producing
photosystem photosystem
 Dua orbit dipertimbangkan sebagai
tempat eksitasi elektron yaitu orbit I dan
II (eksitasi I & II)
 Elektron yang tereksitasi tidak terikat
kuat pada molekul khlorofil dan mudah
ditransfer ke molekul lain disekitarnya.
 Pusat reaksi yang tereksitasi adalah
reduktor yang kuat, dan bahkan cukup
kuat untuk mereduksi molekul lain yang
tidak siap menerima elektron.
Partial energy diagram for a photoluminescent system.
 Fluorescence: Emisi cahaya dari molekul yang
sedang diiradiasi sebagai akibat dari penurunan
elektron dari orbait 1 ke orbit dasar. Proses ini
tidak tergantung suhu dan berlangsung cepat
(lifetime 10-8 detik). Panjang gelombang lebih
besar dari panjang gelombang yang diabsorpsi
(chlorophyll a mengabsorpsi cahaya pada 430 &
630 nm, dan mengemisi cahaya pada 668 nm).
 Phosphorescence: Emisi cahaya dari molekul
sebagai akibat penurunan elektron dari “triplet
state” ke orbit dasar. Cahaya yang dihasilkan
berlangsung relatif perlahan (10-4 – 2 detik),
dan panjang gelombang relatif sangat panjang
 Red light absorbed by photosystem II
(PSII) produces a strong oxidant and a
weak reductant.
 Far‑red light absorbed by photosystem I
(PSI) produces a weak oxidant and a
strong reductant.
 The strong oxidant generated by PSII
oxidizes water, while the strong
reductant produced by PSI reduces
NADP.
  Loss of energy due to heat
Excitation of chlorophyll causes the photons of light to be
in a chloroplast less energetic.
 Less energy translates into
longer wavelength.
e Excited
2 state  Energy = (Planck’s constant) x
(velocity of light)/(wavelength of
light)
 Transition toward the red end of
Light Heat the visible spectrum.
Light
(fluorescence)
Photon

Ground
state
Chlorophyll
molecule

(a) Absorption of a photon

(b) fluorescence of isolated chlorophyll in solution

1. H2O 8. P700+ (PSI reaction
2. Z (PSII) center chlorophyll)
3. P680* (PSII reaction 9. A0 (chlorophyll ?)
center chlorophyll) 10. A1 (quinone?)
4. Pheo (pheophytin) 11. FeSx, FeSB, & FeSA
5. QA and QB (membrane‑bound
(plastoquinone iron‑sulfur proteins)
acceptors) 12. Fd (soluble ferredoxin)
6. Cytochrome b.‑f 13. Fp (flavoprotein
complex ferredoxin‑NADP
7. PC (plastocyanin) reductase)
14. NADP
Noncyclic Photophosphorylation
 Photosystem II regains electrons by splitting water, leaving
O2 gas as a by-product

El
Primary ec
tro
electron acceptor n
tra
ns
Primary p or
electron acceptor t
El
ec
tro
n
tra
ns
po
rt
ch
ai
n

Photons

Energy for
synthesis of

PHOTOSYSTEM I

PHOTOSYSTEM II by chemiosmosis
Plants produce O2 gas by splitting H2O
 The O2 liberated by photosynthesis is made
from the oxygen in water (H+ and e-)
 The red X indicates that
protons do not directly pass
through the cytochrome
complex.

Protons cross the membrane via

oxidation and reduction of quinones
1. Z is a tyrosine side chain on the reaction
center protein D1. Electrons are extracted
from water (H2O) by the oxygen‑evolving
complex and rereduce Z+.
2. On the oxidizing side of PSII (to the left of the
arrow joining P680 with P680*), P680 + is
rereduced by Z, the immediate donor to PSII.
3. The excited PSII reaction center chlorophyll,
(P680*) transfers an electron to pheophytin
(Pheo).
4. On the reducing side of PSII (to the right of
the arrow joining P680 with P680*), the
pheophytin transfers electrons to the
plastoquinone acceptors QA and QB.
5. The cytochrome b.‑f complex transfers
electrons to plastocyanin (PC), which in turn
reduces P700+.
6. The b,‑f complex contains a Rieske iron‑sulfur
protein (FeSR), two b‑type cytochromes (cyt b),
and cytochrome f (cyt f).
7. The acceptor of electrons from P700* (A0) is
thought to be a chlorophyll, and the next
acceptor (A1) may be a quinone.
8. A series of membrane‑bound iron‑sulfur
proteins (FeSx, FeSB, and FeSA) transfer
electrons to soluble ferredoxin (Fd).
9. The flavoprotein ferredoxin‑NADP reductase
(Fp) serves to reduce NADP, which is used in
the Calvin cycle to reduce CO2.
10. The dashed line indicates cyclic electron flow
around PSI.
11. PSII produces electrons that reduce the
cytochrome b.‑f complex, while PSI produces
an oxidant that oxidizes the cytochrome b.‑f
complex.
P680 and P700 refer to the wavelengths of
maximum absorption of the reaction center
chlorophylls in PSII and PSI
12. The electron of PSI is then excited upon
absorption of radiation energy and transfer to A0
(chlorophyll)
13. The transfer of electron occurs from A 0
to A1 (quinone), FeSx, FeSB, & FeSA
(membrane‑bound iron‑sulfur proteins),
Fd (soluble ferredoxin ), Fp
(flavoprotein ferredoxin‑NADP
reductase) and finally to NADP+
14. It was found antagonistic effects of light
on cytochrome oxidation.
H2O Z (PSII)P680* (PSII reaction center
chlorophyll) Pheo (pheophytin)QA and QB
(plastoquinone acceptors)Cytochrome b.‑f
complex PC (plastocyanin)P700+ (PSI
reaction center chlorophyll) A0
(chlorophyll ?)A1 (quinone?) FeSx, FeSB, &
FeSA (membrane‑bound iron‑sulfur proteins)
 Fd (soluble ferredoxin )Fp (flavoprotein
ferredoxin‑NADP reductase)NADP
1. Eksitasi 1 mol e pada setiap pusat reaksi (PSII &
PSI) membutuhkan 1 kuanta cahaya. Reduksi 1
mol NADP  1 mol NADPH membutuhkan 2 mol
e
2. Berapa kuanta cahaya dibutuhkan untuk
pembentukan 1 mol NADPH ?
3. Berapa NADPH dihasil dari hasil fotolisis air ?
4. Tingkat Cahaya di Malang sekitar 1 mmol.s-1,
berapa NADPH yang dihasilkan dengan tingkat
cahaya demikian ?
1. Where does the light reaction happen ?
2. What is the function of water in
photosynthesis ?
3. What is the event to happen after the
light interception by pigments
4. What is the first molecule receiving
electrons from the pigments
(chlorophyll) excited at PS I
5. What is the first molecule receiving
electrons from the pigments
(chlorophyll) excited at PS II