help c. Why do plants contain so many pigments? 4. Where do plants typically sto

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c. Why do plants contain so many pigments? 4. Where do plants typically store energy that is produced from photosynthesis? Many plants contain water-soluble red pigments called anthocyanins. Why were these not visible in the chromatogram of the chlorophyll extract? 5. The processes of photosynthesis and respiration were studied in separate labs, but, as you know, any cell that is carrying on photosynthesis is also carrying on respiration. On average, if a plant is to grow, the rate of photosynthesis must exceed the rate of respiration by a factor of at least three. 6. 13

Explanation / Answer

Question C. Why do plants contain so many pigments?

Plants contain different pigments for different functions in their system.

Their main fucntion is photosynthesis where chlorophyll plays major role. However the different wavelengths of sunlight are not all used equally in photosynthesis. The main pigment chlorophyll molecule absorbs blue and red light whereas carotenoids another important group of pigments absorb violet and blue green light. This brightly coloured pigments (carotenoids) are mainly found in fruits and often used to attract animals which can help in dispersing the plant's seeds. Flavonoids , another important pigments, are a group of plant metabolites play a variety of biological roles. They protect plant from differnt biotic and abiotic stress, function as signal molecule and also as antimicrobial defensive compounds.They produce the colour in plants to attract pollinating insects.

Q4. Where do plants typically store energy that is produced from photosynthesis?

In photosynthesis plant converts light energy to chemical energy and stores as sugar within chloroplasts.

Q5. Many plants contain water soluble red pigments called anthocyanins. Why where these not visible in the chromatogram of the chlorophyll extracts?

Chlorophyll is insoluble in water. The long hydrocarbon tail attached to the porphyrin ring makes chlorophyll fat soluble. For this reason extraction of chlorophyll does not contain any water soluble pigments line anthocyanins.

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