115k views
0 votes
Which of the following explains why photosystem units contain a high proportion of antenna pigments compared to reaction centers?

A. Antenna pigments split water
B. Antenna pigments help reduce the reaction centers
C. Antenna pigment contain rubisco
D. Antenna pigments allow more wavelengths of light and more photons to be captured, increasing the efficiency of light capture.

User ZPS
by
5.0k points

1 Answer

0 votes

The correct answer is: D. Antenna pigments allow more wavelengths of light and more photons to be captured, increasing the efficiency of light capture.

The photosynthetic pigments can be part of the antenna pigments or part of the reaction center. The role of the antenna pigments (large number of protein-bound pigment molecules) is to absorb photons and transfer their energy to the reaction center. Simply saying, antenna pigments are light-harvesting complexes. They are composed of polypeptides, that bind chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, carotene and xanthophylls.

User Msv
by
5.2k points