Adapted from L. Miriello by S.

Sharp

AP Biology Chapter 10 Guided Reading Assignment

Name: Niki Sepanj

1. Explain the experiment reasoning that Van Niel used to understand photosynthesis. -He saw that some plants used carbon dioxide but did not release oxygen, and that some plants used hydrogen sulfide and released sulfide, so he saw that the hydrogen comes from the water molecules and the oxygen is released, rather than from carbon dioxide. 2. What is carbon fixation? -Inside of the Calvin Cycle, carbon fixation occurs when carbon dioxide is attached to RuBp, a 5-carbon sugar, by the enzyme rubisco forming an unstable 6-carbon sugar, which is then split into two 3-carbon sugars. 3. What are the two stages of photosynthesis? -The two stages of photosynthesis are the light reaction, which makes ATP and NADPH, which the Calvin Cycle uses in the second phase to make G3P (sugar). 4. What is a photon? -A separated amount of light energy. 5. Why are leaves green? -Because the pigment inside of leaves, chlorophyll, absorbs all colors except for yellow and green, which it transmits and reflects; therefore, giving it its green color. 6. What is the difference between an absorption spectra and action spectrum? -An absorption spectra is the wavelength of one specific pigment and the action spectrum is the overall wavelengths of all of the pigments in photosynthesis. 7. What happens to chlorophyll when it is hit by light? How does this relate to potential energy? -When light strikes the chlorophyll, it absorbs the photons of light and the electrons of the molecule, in this case the hydrogen ions from the water molecule, are moved to a higher level where they have more potential energy. It has to do with potential energy because the absorption of the photon allows the electron to go to an orbital with higher energy; therefore, it becomes excited .

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Adapted from L. Miriello by S. Sharp

8. Identify the following parts of a photosystem: a. Photosystem: -it is made of one centered reaction center surrounded by light harvesting complexes. b. Light harvesting complex -It is pigments such as chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and carotenoids that are bound to proteins. c. Reaction center -it is a protein complex that has chlorophyll a and a primary electron acceptor. d. Primary electron acceptor -it accepts all of the electrons from chlorophyll a. 9. What are the steps in noncyclic electron flow in photosynthesis? 1) light hits the pigments and excites the electrons 2) the electrons are captured by the primary electron acceptor 3) an enzyme splits a water into 2 electrons (2 hydrogen and 1 oxygen) and they go to the primary electron acceptor, then oxygen combines with another oxygen immediately making an oxygen molecule, which leaves the cell. 4) The electrons go into the electron transport chain 5) The falling of electrons releases energy to form ADP into ATP by ATP synthesis. This is the end of photosystem 2. 6) Then, photosystem 1 begins because light is absorbed by the light harvesting complex and the electrons are once again excited and sent to the primary electron acceptor 7) Then, the electrons are sent to a second electron electron transport chain 8) NADP+ ruductase transfers electrons to NADP+, which will reduce it to NADPH. 10. What is cyclic electron flow? -when there is not enough ATP inside of a cell, it will switch from linear light reaction to cyclic, where only photosystem 1 is used rather than 1 and 2, and it only produces ATP. It is different because the electrons cycle from Fd to the cytochrome complex then to the chlorophyll and to the primary electron acceptor, and then it cycles back. When in the cytochrome system, the energy from the falling of the electrons is used to make ATP for the cell.

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Adapted from L. Miriello by S. Sharp

11. Compare and contrast chemiosmosis in mitochondria and chloroplasts. -Chemiosmosis is the same in mitochondria than inside of chloroplasts because they both pump hydrogen ions across a membrane from low to high (active transport) and the protons diffuse back through the ATP synthase, which will cause ATP synthesis to occur, but they are different because in mitochondria, the electrons come from organic compounds and in chloroplasts they come from water. Additionally, mitochondria transfer chemical energy from food to ATP and chloroplasts change light energy into chemical energy in ATP. Also, in the mitochondria chemiosmosis occurs in the inner membranes of the mitochondira and chloroplasts it occurs in the thylakoid membranes of the chloroplasts. 12. Use the diagram below to summarize the activities in the light reactions of photosynthesis. -water is split by photosystem 2 and oxygen is released and its h+ ions go to the ATP synthase. Other electrons move from the primary electron acceptor to the cytochrome complex and also go to ATP synthase. More light hits photosystem 1 and a H+ ion and NADP+ get together to form NADPH. The electrons go through ATP synthase and form ATP, which will go to the Calvin Cycle along with the NADPH. 13. Describe and explain the overall purpose of the Calvin cycle and each phase listed below: a. Calvin cycle -The purpose of the Calvin Cycle is to use ATP and NADPH to fix carbon dioxide and turn it into G3P (sugar) b. Carbon fixation -rubisco combines carbon dioxide with RuBp (5-carbon sugar) to make an unstable 6-carbon sugar, which is then split into two 3-carbon sugars. c. Reduction -phosphate from ATP is given to the 3-carbon sugars and a pair of electrons from NADPH reduces them to G3P, which has more potential energy. d. Regeneration -the cycle uses more ATP to turn the G3P back into RuBp, ready for the cycle to begin again. 14. What is a plants most valuable resource and why did plants need to evolve adaptations for hot, arid climates? -water -because when their stomata was open, it would cause them to do transpiration and lose water, which would bring photosynthesis to a pause and delay it, causing them to do photorespiration, which is bad.

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Adapted from L. Miriello by S. Sharp

15. Why is photorespiration such a waste? -it is a waste because it attaches rubisco to oxygen instead of carbon dioxide because it is more present, and a 2-carbon sugar leaves the cells and is recycled my the mitochondria and peroxisomes. It uses ATP and does not produce any and it decreases photosynthetic output and does not produce any sugar. It also consumes oxygen and releases carbon dioxide. 16. Explain C4 plants. -They are plants that produce a 4-carbon sugar rather than a 3-carbon one. And they do their own special photosynthesis, which occurs in two different parts: the mesophyll and the bundle sheath. First, the enzyme PEP carboxylase adds carbon dioxide to PEP and a 4-carbon sugar is the result (oxalacetate), which then turns into malate, which goes down the plasmodesmata as carbon dioxide and pyruvat, but the pyruvate goes back up the plasmodesmata and regenerates, and the carbon dioxide enters the Calvin Cycle in the bundle sheath cell, making sugar. 17. What are CAM plants and what is their advantage? -CAM plants are plants, who close their stomata during the day and open them during the night, which allows them to conserve water, but prevents carbon dioxide from entering the leaves. During the night, carbon dioxide enters the mesophyll cell, which is then turned into organic acids and then into carbon dioxide and more organic acids, which are regenerated. The carbon dioxide is then entered into the Calvin Cycle, which will result into sugar. 18. Use the diagram below to summarize the activities of photosynthesis. -There are two different stages in photosynthesis: light reactions and the Calvin Cycle reactions. The different activities inside of the light reactions are that: they convert light energy into chemical energy of ATP and NADPH and they split water and release oxygen into the atmosphere. The different activities of the Calvin Cycle are that: it uses ATP and NADPH to convert carbon dioxide to G3P and then it returns the ADP, inorganic phosphate, and NADP+ to the light reactions.

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