PHOTOSYNTHESIS Plants harness the energy of the sun through a process called pho
ID: 211835 • Letter: P
Question
PHOTOSYNTHESIS Plants harness the energy of the sun through a process called photosynthesis. The leaf is the plant organ that performs most of the photosynthesis of a plant; however, any part of the plant that is green can perform photosynthesis. The green color of leaves is due to the presence of chlorophyll, (the pigment found in chloroplasts) the chemical that absorbs photons from the sun. There are two types of chlorophyll molecules, chlorophyll A and chlorophyll B. Each absorbs slightly different wavelengths of light. The different wavelengths that chlorophyll molecules absorb is called an absorption spectrum. Both molecules typically absorb in the blue and red wavelengths; these wavelengths are the most effective for photosynthesis. On the oth hand, leaves transmit and reflect green light. The carotenoids are a third type of pigment molecule that absorb slightly longer wavelengths of light than the chlorophyll molecules. In today's lab, you will first determine an absorption spectrum for spinach using a spectrophotometer. You will also visualize the specific pigments found in spinach using chromatography Equipment: Spectrophotometer Glass jars (chromatography container) Chromatography paper Scissors Petri dishes Pipettes (1-3 mL) Glass tube (for spinach homogenate) Reagents: Chromatography solvent (9 parts pet-ether to 1 part acetone; 10 mL per group) Acetone (10 mL per group)Explanation / Answer
Introduction:
The light energy from sun is captured by the plants are converted into sugars in the photosynthesis process, where the light energy is absorbed by pigments present in cloroplasts of plant cell. Light energy is an electromagnetic radiation and different types of radiation have different ranges of wavelengths. The wave length of visible light or electromagnetic radiation is approximately between 400 nm and 700 nm. Pigments of plants can absorb only a specific range of wavelengths and reflect othrs. Pigmentation spectrum is the range of wavelengths absorbed by a pigment. The vital pigments for plants are chlorophylls and carotenoids. There are five types of chlorophylls (chlorophyll a, b, c and d, and bacteriochlorophyll) and chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b are important for plant photosynthesis. Another key group of pigments are carotenoids. An absorption spectrum is a spectrum of radiant energy absorbed by the plant leaf. Spectrophotometers are used to measure the absorption spectrum. Spinach leaves fall under the absorption spectrum of 400-700 nm, as it majorly contains chlorophyll a, b, and carotenoids. The pigments of absorption are confirmed by chromatographic techniques that differentiate solvents based on molecular weight.
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