General

Biology 1 12
Earth Science – Grade 12
Quarter 2 – Module 10: Electron Flow in Light Reaction
First Edition, 2020

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 General
Biology 1
12
Quarter 2
Self-Learning Module 10
Electron Flow in Light Reaction
Introductory Message
For the facilitator:

Welcome to the General Biology 1 Self-Learning Module 10 on Electron Flow

in Light Reaction

This Self-Learning Module was collaboratively designed, developed and

reviewed by educators from the Schools Division Office of Pasig City headed by its
Officer-in-Charge Schools Division Superintendent, Ma. Evalou Concepcion A.
Agustin, in partnership with the City Government of Pasig through its mayor,
Honorable Victor Ma. Regis N. Sotto. The writers utilized the standards set by the K
to 12 Curriculum using the Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELC) in
developing this instructional resource.

This learning material hopes to engage the learners in guided and independent
learning activities at their own pace and time. Further, this also aims to help learners
acquire the needed 21st century skills especially the 5 Cs, namely: Communication,
Collaboration, Creativity, Critical Thinking, and Character while taking into
consideration their needs and circumstances.

In addition to the material in the main text, you will also see this box in the
body of the module:

Notes to the Teacher

This contains helpful tips or strategies that
will help you in guiding the learners.

As a facilitator you are expected to orient the learners on how to use this
module. You also need to keep track of the learners' progress while allowing them to
manage their own learning. Moreover, you are expected to encourage and assist the
learners as they do the tasks included in the module.
 For the Learner:

Welcome to the General Biology 1 Self-Learning Module 10 on Electron Flow

in Light Reaction

This module was designed to provide you with fun and meaningful
opportunities for guided and independent learning at your own pace and time. You
will be enabled to process the contents of the learning material while being an active
learner.

This module has the following parts and corresponding icons:

Expectations - This points to the set of knowledge and skills

that you will learn after completing the module.

Pretest - This measures your prior knowledge about the lesson

at hand.

Recap - This part of the module provides a review of concepts

and skills that you already know about a previous lesson.

Lesson - This section discusses the topic in the module.

Activities - This is a set of activities that you need to perform.

Wrap-Up - This section summarizes the concepts and

application of the lesson.

Valuing - This part integrates a desirable moral value in the

lesson.

Posttest – This measures how much you have learned from the
entire module.
 EXPECTATIONS

After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. Describe the patterns of electron flow through light reaction events.
2. Explain the processes in photosystem complexes involved in light reaction
3. Understand the value of light-absorbing pigment molecules among plants and
other photosynthetic organisms.

PRETEST

Multiple Choice. Choose the letter of the best answer.

_________1. Photophosphorylation involves using light energy (photo) to make ATP
from ADP (phosphorylation). Choose the correct sequence on how
these steps take place in this process:

I. Synthesis of ATP
II. Light absorption in photosystem II
III. Formation of NADPH
IV. Light absorption in photosystem I

A. II, I, IV, III B. II, IV, III, I

C. II, I, III, IV D. II, III, I , IV

_________2. As electrons flow, energy from light is required and thus, involves four
electrons aided by an acceptor and a donor. Which pair of molecules
assumes this role?
A. NADP+ and H2O
B. H2O and O2
C. NADP+ and 2H+
D. O2 and 2NADPH

_________3. The energy is used to establish the proton gradient across the thylakoid
membrane comes from the ____
A. Synthesis of ATP
B. Synthesis of NAMPH
C. Splitting of water
D. Passage of electrons along the ETC of photosystem II.
_________4. What are the products of the light reactions that are subsequently used
by the Calvin cycle?
A. oxygen and carbon dioxide
B. carbon dioxide and RuBP
C. ATP and NADPH
D. electrons and protons

_________5. If photosynthesizing green algae re provided with CO2 synthesized with

heavy oxygen18O, later analysis will show that all but one of the
following compounds produced by the algae contain18O label. That one
is ___
A. O2
B. PGAL
C. glucose
D. RuBP

RECAP

In the previous module, we studied the different features of accessory

pigments, their sources and their function or importance. Let us recall the past
lesson by answering the activity below.

Activity 1.1. Complete the concept map with your understanding on the concept
learned from the previous lesson.

SOURCES

COLOR/S BENEFITS

BIOLOGICA
L
EXAMPLES REPRESENT
PIGMENTS
ATIVE
SPECIES

Have you ever wonder why flowers at home or shops are always submerged in
the water? Why grocery stores spray their vegetables with water? In this module, we
will answer those questions by studying another type of passive transport, osmosis.
 LESSON

VOCABULARY REVIEW
ATP
Adenosine triphosphate. An adenine molecule, or a nucleotide, attached to three
linearly connected phosphate groups (–H2PO4R, where R is a functional group).
Autotroph
An organism that can use light energy and the photosynthetic process to produce
organic food (read: containing carbon and hydrogen) from inorganic molecules.
Calvin cycle
A series of reactions that occur during photosynthesis in the inner area, or stroma,
of chloroplasts, aka the photosynthetic organelle in plants. The Calvin cycle is part
of the light-independent reactions of photosynthesis.
Carbohydrate
A biological molecule that has the elements carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O)
in a ratio of 1:2:1.
Chlorophyll
A magical green pigment that absorbs light and is found in all plants, algae, and
cyanobacteria. Photosynthesis cannot happen without chlorophyll.
Chloroplast
The organelle, or "mini organ," in plant cells and a few other eukaryotic cells that
carries out photosynthesis, or the conversion of sunlight into food.
Electron transport chain
A specific process used in the light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis.
During the electron transport chain, electrons are repeatedly transferred from a
high-energy electron donor (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate,
or NADPH), to an electron acceptor, such as O2.
Electron
A negatively charged (-1) subatomic particle. An electron is part of an atom.
Endosymbiosis
The theory that explains how mitochondria and chloroplasts became organelles of
other cells.
H+
Hydrogen ion, otherwise known as a proton. The atomic number of hydrogen is 1,
meaning that it has only one proton in its nucleus.
Light reactions, or light-dependent reactions
The first stage of photosynthesis, where light energy from the Sun is captured, and
with water (H2O), changed into chemical energy in the forms of ATP and NADPH.
Light-independent reactions, or dark reactions
The second stage of photosynthesis, where carbohydrates from carbon dioxide, or
CO2, are produced using the energy forms (ATP and NADPH) generated in the first
stage of photosynthesis, aka the light-dependent reactions. The light-
independent reactions occur in the stroma of the chloroplast in plants.
NADPH
Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate, which is a strong reducing agent, or
electron donor, as well as a coenzyme. NADP+ is the common notation for the
nonreduced form, and NADPH is the name once it has been reduced, or gained an
electron. NADPH acts as a carrier of electrons and is used extensively in the
synthesis of biological molecules.
Oxidized
A state of a molecule once it has lost an electron.
Oxidizing agent
A molecule that accepts electrons and oxidizes the molecule that it accepts electrons
from.
Proton gradient
The movement of protons from the lumen to the stroma, or from high to low
concentration, in chloroplasts. The proton gradient is exploited to
generate ATP and NADPH.
Reduced
The state of a molecule that has gained electrons.
Reducing agent
A molecule that can donate electrons. A reducing agent reduces the molecule that it
donates electrons to.
RuBisCo
Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase oxygenase, or the enzyme used in the light-
independent reactions to fix carbon dioxide (CO2) to the 5-carbon ribulose-1,5-
bisphosphate (RuBP).

ELECTRON FLOW IN LIGHT REACTION

Sunlight is absorbed by photosynthetic pigments, the most abundant of which

in plants are the chlorophylls. Absorption of light excites an electron to a higher
energy state, thus converting the energy of sunlight to potential chemical energy. The
photosynthetic pigments are organized into photocenters in the thylakoid membrane,
each of which contains hundreds of pigment molecules. The many pigment molecules
in each photocenter act as antennae to absorb light and transfer the energy of their
excited electrons to a chlorophyll molecule that serves as a reaction center. The
reaction center chlorophyll then transfers its high-energy electron to an acceptor
molecule in an electron transport chain. High-energy electrons are then transferred
through a series of membrane carriers, coupled to the synthesis of ATP and NADPH.
 Figure 7.1 : The photosynthetic reaction center . Source : www. brittanica.com

Each photocenter consists of hundreds of antenna pigment molecules, which

absorb photons and transfer energy to a reaction center chlorophyll. The reaction
center chlorophyll then transfers its excited electron to an acceptor in the electron
transport chain. The reaction center illustrated is that of photosystem II, in which
electrons are transferred from the reaction center chlorophyll to pheophytin and then
to quinones (QA, QB, and QH2).

Overview of the light-dependent reactions

Before we get into the details of the light-dependent reactions, let's step back and get
an overview of this remarkable energy-transforming process.

The light-dependent reactions use light energy to make two molecules needed for the
next stage of photosynthesis: the energy storage molecule ATP and the reduced
electron carrier NADPH. In plants, the light reactions take place in the thylakoid
membranes of organelles called chloroplasts.

Photosystems, large complexes of proteins and pigments (light-absorbing molecules)

that are optimized to harvest light, play a key role in the light reactions. There are
two types of photosystems: photosystem I (PSI) and photosystem II (PSII).

Both photosystems contain many pigments that help collect light energy, as well as
a special pair of chlorophyll molecules found at the core (reaction center) of the
photosystem. The special pair of photosystem I is called P700, while the special pair
of photosystem II is called P680.
 Figure 7.2 : The light-dependent reactions . Source : www. brittanica.com

In a process called non-cyclic photophosphorylation (the "standard" form of the light-

dependent reactions), electrons are removed from water and passed through PSII and
PSI before ending up in NADPH. This process requires light to be absorbed twice,
once in each photosystem, and it makes ATP . In fact, it's called
photophosphorylation because it involves using light energy (photo) to make ATP
from ADP (phosphorylation). Here are the basic steps:
• Light absorption in PSII. When light is absorbed by one of the many
pigments in photosystem II, energy is passed inward from pigment to
pigment until it reaches the reaction center. There, energy is transferred
to P680, boosting an electron to a high energy level. The high-energy
electron is passed to an acceptor molecule and replaced with an
electron from water. This splitting of water releases the O2

• ATP synthesis. The high-energy electron travels down an electron

transport chain, losing energy as it goes. Some of the released energy
drives pumping of H+ ions from the stroma into the thylakoid interior,
building a gradient. As ions flow down their gradient and into the
stroma, they pass through ATP synthase, driving ATP production in a
process known as chemiosmosis.

• Light absorption in PSI. The electron arrives at photosystem I and

joins the P700 special pair of chlorophylls in the reaction center. When
light energy is absorbed by pigments and passed inward to the reaction
center, the electron in P700 is boosted to a very high energy level and
transferred to an acceptor molecule. The special pair's missing electron
is replaced by a new electron from PSII (arriving via the electron
transport chain).
 • NADPH formation. The high-energy electron travels down a short
second leg of the electron transport chain. At the end of the chain, the
electron is passed to NADP+

It's important to realize that the electron transfers of the light-dependent reactions
are driven by, and indeed made possible by, the absorption of energy from light. In
other words, the transfers of electrons from PSII to PSI, and from PSI to NADPH, are
only energetically "downhill" (energy-releasing, and thus spontaneous) because
electrons in P680 and P700 are boosted to very high energy levels by absorption of
energy from light.

electron (e-)
NADPH
electron (e-)

light energy

Free energy P700

of electron
light energy
H2O
P680

Reaction progress

What is a photosystem?
Photosynthetic pigments, such as
chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and
carotenoids, are light-harvesting
molecules found in the thylakoid
membranes of chloroplasts. As
mentioned above, pigments are
organized along with proteins into
complexes called photosystems.
Each photosystem has light-
harvesting complexes that contain
proteins, chlorophylls, and other
pigments.
Figure 7.3 : Image modified from "The Light-Dependent Reactions of Photosynthesis: Figure 7," by
OpenStax College, Biology (CC BY 4.0.

When a pigment absorbs a photon, it is raised to an excited state, meaning

that one of its electrons is boosted to a higher-energy orbital.
Photosystem I vs. photosystem II
There are two types of photosystems in the light-dependent reactions,
photosystem II (PSII) and photosystem I (PSI). PSII comes first in the path of electron
flow, but it is named as second because it was discovered after PSI.
Here are some of the key differences between the photosystems:
• Special pairs. The chlorophyll a special pairs of the two photosystems
absorb different wavelengths of light. The PSII special pair absorbs best
at 680 nm, while the PSI special absorbs best at 700 nm. Because of
this, the special pairs are called P680 and P700, respectively.
• Primary acceptor. The special pair of each photosystem passes
electrons to a different primary acceptor. The primary electron acceptor
of PSII is pheophytin, an organic molecule that resembles chlorophyll,
while the primary electron acceptor of PSI is a chlorophyll called Ao7,8
• Source of electrons. Once an electron is lost, each photosystem is
replenished by electrons from a different source. The PSII reaction
center gets electrons from water, while the PSI reaction center is
replenished by electrons that flow down an electron transport chain
from PSII.

ACTIVITY 7.2. On the diagram give below, fill in the labels with the following
descriptions. Some of the objects have multiple labels.

5. • Water
• Carbon Dioxide
1. 2. 6. 7. • Oxygen
• Sugar
• Electron acceptor
• Electron donor
8. • carbohydrates
• energy input
3. 4.
ACTIVITY 7.3. Complete the given diagram below:

WRAP-UP
ACTIVITY 7.4. The Events of Light Reactions
For PSII, the cytochrome complex, and PSI, describe the events in a bulleted
list in Table 1.
 VALUING

Photosynthesis is important to living organisms because it is the number one source

of oxygen in the atmosphere. Green plants and trees use photosynthesis to make
food from sunlight, carbon dioxide and water in the atmosphere: It is their primary
source of energy. By recognizing concepts learned on this module, answer the
following questions briefly:
a. How important is light energy in the absorption and conversion of chlorophyll
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
b. Describe the role of the proton+ gradient used to make energy currencies such as
ATP.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

POSTTEST

Multiple Choice. Choose the letter of the best answer.

_________1. What is produced from the light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis
that are used in the dark reactions?
A. NADPH and ATP
B. Electrons and Protons
C. NADPH, ATP and Oxygen
D. Water, Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide

_________2. How is NADP+ and NADPH in the light reaction related?

A. NADP+ is reduced to NADPH
B. NADP+ is oxidized to NADPH
C. NADPH is reduced to NADP+
D. NADP+ is broken into NADP + H+

_________3. What is NOT used by the light independent reactions of photosynthesis?

A. O2
B. NADPH
C. ATP
D. Rubisco
_________4. How is the Calvin Cycle different from the light-dependent reactions?
A. It takes place in the thylakoid membrane
B. It takes place in the chloroplast
C. It takes place in the stroma
D. It requires light

_________5. Why does the space inside the thylakoid become positively charged during
the light-dependent reactions?
A. Carbon dioxide builds up in the stroma
B. H+ ions build up in the space as water molecule split
C. Electrons have a + charge and are released here by Photosystem II
D. ATP synthase pushes H+ ions from the stroma across the membrane
into the space.

KEY TO CORRECTION
REFERENCES
Batista, Jeremy, Cena Christianilly. May 29, 2019. https://www.STUDY.com/simple-science-chloroplast-structure-
function-examples

Introduction to Plants Lesson Accessed July 14, 2020.

https://www.bu.edu/gk12/xiaojuan/Lessons/chloroplast.html.

Hoefnagels, Marielle. General Biology. McGraw-Hill Education. Abiva Publishing House,Inc. 2016.

Learning, Lumen. “Anatomy and Physiology I.” Lumen. Accessed July 7, 2020.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/austincc-ap1/chapter/botany

Miller, Stephen A. Zoology. McGraw-Hill. New York. 2010.

Starr, Cecie. Evers, Christine. and Lisa. Starr. Biology: Today and Tomorrow Biology for Non Science
Majors. Cengage Learning. 2010
Study.com. Accessed July 14, 2020. https://study.com/academy/practice/quiz-worksheet-characteristics-of-
chloroplast.html.
Posts, Related, and About The Author sana. “OBJECTIVE FOR Diffusion. Osmosis Absorption. Translocation &
Transpiration.” Its all about Zoology , Botany and Biology. Accessed July 14, 2020.
https://biologyboom.com/objective-for-diffusion-osmosis-absorption-translocation-transpiration/.
https://www.britannica.com/science/chloroplast
Sciencing.com. Accessed July 14, 2020. https://sciencing.com/academy/practice/quiz-worksheet-four stages of
cellular respiration.html.
Sciencing.com. Accessed July 18, 2020. https://sciencing.com/academy/practice/quiz-worksheet-importance of
pigments in photosynthesis.html.