Bio 1: Chapter 9 Vocab

ATP

Adenosine triphosphate; compound used by cells to store and release energy

Photosynthesis

The process of plants converting the energy of sunlight into chemical energy stored in the bonds of carbohydrates

Pigments

Compounds that absorb light; used by photosynthetic organisms to capture the energy in sunlight

Chlorophyll

The principal pigment of green plants.

Thylakoids

Saclike photosynthetic membranes found in chloroplasts.

Stroma

Fluid portion of the chloroplast; outside of the thylakoids.

NADP+

Carrier molecule that transfers high energy electrons from chlorophyll to other molecules.

Light-Dependent Reactions

The first set of reactions in photosynthesis that require the direct involvement of light and light absorbing pigments to turn ADP into ATP.

Light-Independent Reactions

Set of reactions in photosynthesis that don’t require light. (when ATP and NADPH molecules build high-energy sugars from carbon dioxide)

Photosystems

Proteins that absorb sunlight and generate high-energy electrons that are then passed to a series of electron carriers embedded in the membrane.

Electron Transport Chain

A series of electron carrier proteins that shuttle high-energy electrons during ATP-generating reactions.

ATP Synthase

A protein complex that spans the membrane and allows H+ ions to pass through it.

Calvin Cycle

What light-independent reactions are referred to as; when energy from ATP and NADPH is used to build high-energy compounds.