Week 2 BIO Assignmen

Process of Photosynthesis
Shawanda D. Robinson
BIO 204 Plant Physiology
Monday, January 26, 2015
Brandy McFadden

Process of Photosynthesis

We all learned in elementary school that the suns provide nutrients and components that help plans grow. “As the name implies, photosynthesis is a process that uses light energy to synthesize something.” (Mauseth, 2014) That process is called photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process where plants use light energy from the sun. If we break the word up photo has the definition of light and synthesis means putting together. It provides the necessary sources of energy that both animals and plants need to survive. There are important factors that help photosynthesis, water, light and carbon dioxide. Throughout this essay we will discuss the equation that is associated with photosynthesis, main energy carrying molecule, reactants and products of light reactions and photosynthesis in the Calvin cycle.
Photosynthesis Equation As stated in the intro photosynthesis, “is the process is where plants use “light energy from the sun that is converted into carbon dioxide and water to glucose sugar and oxygen gas through a series of reactions.” ("Chemical Formula Basic Chemistry - Writing Chemical Formula To Balancing Chemical Equations", 2014) All of this information is complied in an equation that helps understand the process, carbon dioxide + water = light energy => glucose + oxygen. The carbon dioxide can be found in the air, water comes from the earth and the energy comes from the sun. Chloroplasts trap the light energy, water then enters the leaves from the earth, and the carbon dioxide enters from the stomata. All of these combined produce glucose and oxygen, which then leaves the leaf and is stored in the plant tissue.
A spectrum of absorption lines or bands, produced when light from a hat source, itself produces a continuous spectrum that passes through a cooler gas. Absorption does not make the leaves change color, chlorophyll makes it green and thocyanins makes them the darker reds that we see in the fall. “The green pigment chlorophyll is uniquely capable of converting the active energy of light into a latent form that can be stored (in food) and used when needed.” (Photosynthesis, 2013)
Main- Energy Carrying Molecule
The main energy-carrying molecule in photosynthesis is ATP, which stands for adenosine triphosphate, this allows energy to be released. This molecule that is broken into three parts. Those three parts are nitrogen base, sugar and phosphate groups. This molecule carries energy in ATP is released when the two phosphate is released. The cell uses glycolysis and the citric acid cycle to oxidize the glucose in a way that energy of these reactions is used to make ATP.
Reactants and Products of Light Reactions Two reactants of photosynthesis are water and carbon dioxide, which are two major factors in the process of photosynthesis. If these two major factors were removed then the production of glucose would slow down tremendously because of the lack of reactants. “Both the reactants and the products of photosynthesis are nontoxic.” (Mauseth, 2014)

(Spilatro, 1998)

Photosynthesis the Calvin Cycle There are two parts of the photosynthesis one is the calving system and the other is light dependent reaction. The Calvin cycle consists of four major steps; grab, split, leave and switch and repeats itself. In the split phase protein molecules (enzymes) breaks the six carbon molecules into two equal parts. The Calvin cycle’s energy is fueled by ATP and NADPH that is produced from the light depend reaction. The photo below shows the cycle that the Calvin system takes.

(“Calvin Cycle.” 2013).

Conclusion Growing up we all learned the process of photosynthesis, but throughout this assignment we learned the extent of photosynthesis and how important it is. The main factors in photosynthesis are water, light and carbon dioxide. In this essay we discussed the equation associated with photosynthesis, the main energy carrying molecule, reactants and products of light reaction and the effect of photosynthesis in the Calvin cycle. This allowed us to extend and expand the understanding and process of photosynthesis. “As the name implies, photosynthesis is a process that uses light energy to synthesize something.” (Mauseth, 2014)

Reference Page
Chemical formula Basic chemistry - Writing chemical formula to balancing chemical equations. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.chemicalformula.org/photosynthesis
Calvin Cycle. (2013). Retrieved from http://iws.collin.edu/biopage/faculty/mcculloch/1406/notes/photosynthesis/calvin%20cycle.htm
Mauseth, J.D. (2014). Botany: An Introduction to Plant Biology. Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Photosynthesis. (2013). In The Columbia Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://search.credoreference.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/content/entry/columency/photosynthesis/0
Spilatro, S. R. (1998). Photosynthesis Study Guide. Retrieved from http://www.marietta.edu/~spilatrs/biol103/photolab/reaction.html