Photosynthesis “Cheat Sheet”
Plants:
Autotrophs – they make their own sugars during photosynthesis
Producers - Produce food for all other organisms
Animals:
Heterotrophs – must get their sugars (carbohydrates) for energy from other sources – such as plants
Consumers – Consume the food provided by plants
Sun
Ultimate source of energy because it provides the energy for the plants which is then passed down to other
organisms
Photosynthesis
The process by which plants convert the sun’s energy, water and carbon dioxide to sugar and oxygen (a byproduct)
 Takes place in the chloroplasts
 Chlorophyll is the molecule that receives the sun’s energy
 Chloroplasts are in the mesophyll cells of the leaves and stems (green parts) just below the
surface of the leaf (or stem)
Light Reactions
Dark Reactions/Calvin Cycle
In the thylakoid
In the Stroma
Utilizes Water and Light’s energy
Utilizes Carbon Dioxide and ATP and NADPH
from the light reactions
Produces Oxygen – considered a
waste product since the plant
doesn’t use it
Produces Sugar – which is used in the
mitochondria to produce energy
ATP is converted to ADT and NADPH to NADP+
these go back to the light reactions
ADP and NADP+ from the dark
Reactions and are recycled
We can measure the amount of photosynthesis by measuring the amount of oxygen produced – this will
measure light reactions, since oxygen is a product of the light reactions
We can measure the amount of sugar produced, which would determine the amount of carbon dioxide taken
up, and the effectiveness of the dark reactions