Stroma
The thick matrix within a chloroplast
Thylakoid
Membranous sacs where photosynthesis occurs
Grana
Stacks of thylakoids
Light
packets of energy that have specific wavelengths and are made up of photons
Pigment
molecules that absorb specific wavelengths of light
Absorption spectrum
A graph that demonstrates wavelengths (colors) of light absorbed
Action spectrum
A graph that demonstrates the wavelengths (colors) of light used; essentially the sum total of the absorption spectrum
Englemann’s Experiment
An experiment in which a long filament of algae had different sections exposed to different wavelengths of light using a prism and growth of aerobic bacteria determined the action spectrum
Photosystem II
A complex in the membrane of the thylakoid that uses light to excite and pass on electrons to a primary electron acceptor and into the electron transport chain
Photolysis
The process of using light energy to split water molecules; used in photosynthesis to replaced lost excited electrons in the pigments of photosystem II
Photosystem I
A complex in the thylakoid membrane that receives electrons from the electron transport chain to re-excite pass on to a primary acceptor to pass on to NADP+ reductase
NADP+ reductase
an enzyme in the thylakoid membrane that takes NADP+ and pairs it with an NADPH to send to the Calvin cycle