CK12 Life Science

Photosynthesis is crucial to most ecosystems since animals obtain energy by eating other
animals, or plants and seeds that contain these organic molecules. In fact, it is the process
of photosynthesis that supplies almost all the energy to an ecosystem.

Lesson Summary

• The net reaction for photosynthesis is that carbon dioxide and water, together with
  energy from the sun, produce glucose and oxygen.


• During the light reactions of photosynthesis, solar energy is converted into the chemical
  energy of ATP and NADPH.


• During the Calvin Cycle, the chemical energy of ATP and NADPH is used to convert
  carbon dioxide into glucose.

Review Questions

1. What is the energy-capturing stage of photosynthesis?


2. What are the products of the light reactions?


3. What are the ATP and NADPH from the light reactions used for?


4. Where does the oxygen released by photosynthesis come from?


5. What happens to the glucose produced from photosynthesis?


6. Describe the structures of the chloroplast where photosynthesis takes place.


7. What is the significance of the electron transport chain?


8. What are the reactants required for photosynthesis?


9. What are the products of photosynthesis?

Further Reading / Supplemental Links

• http://www.emc.maricopa.edu/faculty/farabee/BIOBK/BioBookPS.html


• http://photoscience.la.asu.edu/photosyn/education/photointro.html


• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/methuselah/photosynthesis.html


• http://www.science.smith.edu/departments/Biology/Bio231/ltrxn.html


• http://www.biology4all.com/resources_library/details.asp?ResourceID=43


• http://www.enwikipedia.org/

Vocabulary

ATP synthase An enzyme that uses the energy of the movement of H+ions to make ATP.

Calvin Cycle The reactions of photosynthesis in which carbon dioxide is converted into
glucose, which is a type of sugar; also known as the light independent reactions.