Chapter 15 Summary (Photosynthesis)
1) Know that photosynthesis is broken up into two parts: Light rxns and carbon
fixation.
2) Know the names of the major components of the chloroplast and the functions
and properties of these components.
3) Know how light energy is converted to chemical energy. Understand how a
photon can excite an electron to a high energy orbital. Know what happens when
the electron returns to ground state. Understand what is charge separation and
how it occurs.
4) Understand the general properties of the major photosynthetic pigments:
Chlorophylls, carotenoids, and phycobilins.
5) Understand the role of antennae pigments. Know how they are able to transfer
energy to photosystems. Understand resonance transfer. Know that you can only
transfer energy to an acceptor of equal or lower energy.
6) Know the general properties of phosystem I and photsystem II and Cyto bf
complex (don’t need to memorize the electron carriers in each complex). Know
the order of these complexes in the linear and cyclic electron transport chains.
Know what mobile electron carriers are used to transport electron between these
complexes. Know where protons are pumped.
7) Understand what is happening during photosynthetic cyclic electron transport.
8) Know where in the thylakoid membrane each component of the electron transport
chain is located (granal lamellae or stromal lamellae)(include the ATPase).
9) Understand what is happening during the three different steps of the reductive
pentose phosphate cycle.
10) Know general properties of Rubisco.
11) Know how rubisco is activated in the light and inactivated in the dark. Know how
Mg 2+, pH and light are related to it activation. Know how Ribulose-1,5bisphosphate acts as a substrate and an inhibitor of rubisco.
12) Understand the oxygenase/carboxylase activities of rubisco. Know what are the
products of the two reactions.
13) Know the reactions taking glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate to glucose. Know in
which subcellular organelle these processes occur.
14) Know the names of the enzymes involved in the regeneration of ribulose 1,5-bis
phosphate.
15) Know how thioredoxin regulates enzymes involved in the reductive pentose
phosphate cycle. Know the relationship of this regulation with light and the
photosynthetic electron transport chain.
16) Understand what is happening during photorespiration. Know why this is a
wasteful process.
17) Know what is happening in C4 and CAM photosynthesis. Know why each are
able to decrease rates of photorespiration.