Photosynthesis
All green parts of a plant have chloroplasts.
However, the leaves are the major site of photosynthesis for most plants.
There are about half a million chloroplasts per square millimeter of leaf surface.
The color of a leaf comes from chlorophyll, the green pigment in the chloroplasts.
Chlorophyll plays an important role in the absorption of light energy during photosynthesis.
Chloroplasts are found mainly in mesophyll cells forming the tissues in the interior of the leaf.
O2 exits and CO2 enters the leaf through microscopic pores called stomata in the leaf.
Veins deliver water from the roots and carry off sugar from mesophyll cells to nonphotosynthetic areas of the plant.
A typical mesophyll cell has 30–40 chloroplasts, each about 2–4 microns by 4–7 microns long.
Each chloroplast has two membranes around a central aqueous space, the stroma.
In the stroma is an elaborate system of interconnected membranous sacs, the thylakoids.
The interior of the thylakoids forms another compartment, the thylakoid space.
Thylakoids may be stacked into columns called grana.
Chlorophyll is located in the thylakoids.
Photosynthetic prokaryotes lack chloroplasts.
Their photosynthetic membranes arise from infolded regions of the plasma membranes, folded in a manner similar to the thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts.
Evidence that chloroplasts split water molecules enabled researchers to track atoms through photosynthesis.
Powered by light, the green parts of plants produce organic compounds and O2 from CO2 and H2O.
The equation describing the process of photosynthesis is:
6CO2 + 12H2O + light energy --> C6H12O6 + 6O2+ 6H2O
C6H12O6 is glucose.
Water appears on both sides of the equation because 12 molecules of water are consumed, and 6 molecules are newly formed during photosynthesis.
We can simplify the equation by showing only the net consumption of water:
6CO2 + 6H2O + light energy --> C6H12O6 + 6O2
The overall chemical change during photosynthesis is the
However, the leaves are the major site of photosynthesis for most plants.
There are about half a million chloroplasts per square millimeter of leaf surface.
The color of a leaf comes from chlorophyll, the green pigment in the chloroplasts.
Chlorophyll plays an important role in the absorption of light energy during photosynthesis.
Chloroplasts are found mainly in mesophyll cells forming the tissues in the interior of the leaf.
O2 exits and CO2 enters the leaf through microscopic pores called stomata in the leaf.
Veins deliver water from the roots and carry off sugar from mesophyll cells to nonphotosynthetic areas of the plant.
A typical mesophyll cell has 30–40 chloroplasts, each about 2–4 microns by 4–7 microns long.
Each chloroplast has two membranes around a central aqueous space, the stroma.
In the stroma is an elaborate system of interconnected membranous sacs, the thylakoids.
The interior of the thylakoids forms another compartment, the thylakoid space.
Thylakoids may be stacked into columns called grana.
Chlorophyll is located in the thylakoids.
Photosynthetic prokaryotes lack chloroplasts.
Their photosynthetic membranes arise from infolded regions of the plasma membranes, folded in a manner similar to the thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts.
Evidence that chloroplasts split water molecules enabled researchers to track atoms through photosynthesis.
Powered by light, the green parts of plants produce organic compounds and O2 from CO2 and H2O.
The equation describing the process of photosynthesis is:
6CO2 + 12H2O + light energy --> C6H12O6 + 6O2+ 6H2O
C6H12O6 is glucose.
Water appears on both sides of the equation because 12 molecules of water are consumed, and 6 molecules are newly formed during photosynthesis.
We can simplify the equation by showing only the net consumption of water:
6CO2 + 6H2O + light energy --> C6H12O6 + 6O2
The overall chemical change during photosynthesis is the