Photosynthesis Overview

A collection of vocabulary terms and definitions related to photosynthesis, its processes, and components.

Autotroph

An organism that can produce its own food, such as plants.

Heterotroph

An organism that cannot make its own energy and must consume other organisms, such as humans.

Photosynthesis

The process used by plants to convert sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water into glucose and oxygen.

Chloroplasts

Organelles in plant cells where photosynthesis takes place.

Thylakoids

Membrane-bound structures within chloroplasts that contain chlorophyll.

Light Reactions

The first stage of photosynthesis where sunlight is converted into chemical energy carriers.

Calvin Cycle

The second stage of photosynthesis that generates glucose using ATP and NADPH.

Carbon fixation

The process of converting inorganic carbon (CO2) into organic compounds (sugars) in the Calvin Cycle.

Rubisco

The most abundant enzyme on the planet, involved in carbon fixation during the Calvin Cycle.

Reactants of Photosynthesis

Sunlight, carbon dioxide (CO2), and water (H2O).

Products of Photosynthesis

Glucose (sugar) and oxygen (O2).

Photon

A packet of light energy that travels in waves.

Photosystem

Protein complexes that absorb light energy during the light-dependent reactions.

NADPH

An electron carrier produced during the light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis.

ATP

A molecule that stores and provides energy for cellular processes, produced during photosynthesis.

Stomata

Openings on the surface of leaves that allow for gas exchange of CO2 and O2.

Chlorophyll

The pigment in plants that absorbs light energy for photosynthesis.

Light-dependent reactions

Reactions of photosynthesis that require light to produce ATP and NADPH.

Light-independent reactions

Reactions of photosynthesis that do not require light, primarily the Calvin Cycle.