Mader 07 Vocabulary

Front 1

absorption spectrum

Back 1

Spectrum produced when atoms absorb specific wavelengths of incoming light as they become excited from lower to higher energy levels.

Front 2

action spectrum

Back 2

Spectrum of light that elicits a particular response.

Front 3

ATP synthase

Back 3

Complex formed of enzymes and their carrier proteins; functions in the production of ATP in chloroplasts and mitochondria.

Front 4

autotroph

Back 4

Organism that can capture energy and synthesize organic molecules from inorganic nutrients.

Front 5

C3 plant

Back 5

Plant that fixes carbon dioxide via the Calvin cycle; the first stable product of C3 photosynthesis is a 3-carbon compound.

Front 6

C4 plant

Back 6

Plant that fixes carbon dioxide to produce a C4 molecule that releases carbon dioxide to the Calvin cycle.

Front 7

Calvin cycle reactions

Back 7

Portion of photosynthesis that takes place in the stroma of chloroplasts and can occur in the dark; it uses the products of the light reactions to reduce CO2 to a carbohydrate.

Front 8

CAM

Back 8

Plant that fixes carbon dioxide at night to produce a C4 molecule that releases carbon dioxide to the Calvin cycle during the day; CAM stands for crassulacean-acid metabolism.

Front 9

carbon dioxide (CO2) fixation

Back 9

Photosynthetic reaction in which carbon dioxide is attached to an organic compound.

Front 10

carotenoid

Back 10

Yellow or orange pigment that serves as an accessory to chlorophyll in photosynthesis.

Front 11

chemiosmosis

Back 11

Ability of certain membranes to use a hydrogen ion gradient to drive ATP formation.

Front 12

chlorophyll

Back 12

Green pigment that absorbs solar energy and is important in algal and plant photosynthesis; occurs as chlorophyll a and chorophyll b.

Front 13

chloroplast

Back 13

Membrane-bounded organelle in algae and plants with chlorophyll-containing membranous thylakoids; where photosynthesis takes place.

Front 14

cyclic electron pathway

Back 14

Portion of the light reaction that involves only photosystem I and generates ATP.

Front 15

electron transport chain

Back 15

Passage of electrons along a series of membrane-bound electron carrier molecules from a higher to lower energy level; the energy released is used for the synthesis of ATP.

Front 16

grana (sing., granum)

Back 16

Stack of chlorophyll-containing thylakoids in a chloroplast.

Front 17

heterotroph

Back 17

Organism that cannot synthesize organic compounds from inorganic substances and therefore must take in organic food.

Front 18

light reactions

Back 18

Portion of photosynthesis that captures solar energy and takes place in thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts; it produces ATP and NADPH.

Front 19

noncyclic electron pathway

Back 19

Portion of the light reactions of photosynthesis that involves both photosystem I and photosystem II. It generates both ATP and NADPH.

Front 20

photorespiration

Back 20

Series of reactions that occurs in plants when carbon dioxide levels are depleted but oxygen continues to accumulate, and the enzyme RuBP cabroxylase fixes oxygen instead of carbon dioxide.

Front 21

photosynthesis

Back 21

Process occurring usually within chloroplasts whereby chlorophyll-containing organelles trap solar energy to reduce carbon dioxide to carbohydrate.

Front 22

photosystem

Back 22

Photosynthetic unit where solar energy is absorbed and high-energy electrons are generated; contains a pigment complex and an electron acceptor; occurs as PS (photosystem) I and PS II.

Front 23

RuBP carboxylase

Back 23

An enzyme that starts the Calvin cycle rections by catalyzing attachment of the carbon atom from CO2 to RuBP.

Front 24

stomata

Back 24

Small openings between two guard cells on the underside of leaf epidermis through which gases pass.

Front 25

stroma

Back 25

Fluid within a chloroplast that contains enzymes involved in the synthesis of carbohydrates during photosynthesis.

Front 26

thylakoid

Back 26

Flattened sac within a granum whose membrane contains chlorophyll and where the light reactions of photosynthesis occur.

Front 27

visible light

Back 27

Portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to the human eye.