Question

Draw a chloroplast and properly label every structure and region of importance to photosynthesis- thylakoid membrane, thylakoid space, stroma, grana. Indicate the location of high and low H+ concentrations, the light reactions, and the Calvin cycle. Show the cycling of energy molecules between the light reactions and the Calvin cycle. Briefly explain the events of the light reactions and Calvin cycle. Address or diagram what enters and leaves each step.

Answer 1

After the energy from the sun is converted and packaged into ATP and NADPH, the cell has the fuel needed to build food in the form of carbohydrate molecules. The carbohydrate molecules made will have a backbone of carbon atoms. Where does the carbon come from? The carbon atoms used to build carbohydrate molecules comes from carbon dioxide, the gas that animals exhale with each breath. The Calvin cycle is the term used for the reactions of photosynthesis that use the energy stored by the light-dependent reactions to form glucose and other carbohydrate molecules.

The Interworkings of the Calvin Cycle

In plants, carbon dioxide (CO2) enters the chloroplast through the stomata and diffuses into the stroma of the chloroplast—the site of the Calvin cycle reactions where sugar is synthesized. The reactions are named after the scientist who discovered them, and reference the fact that the reactions function as a cycle. Others call it the Calvin-Benson cycle to include the name of another scientist involved in its discovery.

Step-by-step explanation: