Unit 6: Photosynthesis/Cellular Respiration

Compare aerobic and anaerobic respiration.

Aerobic respiration takes place in the mitochondria and requires oxygen and glucose, and produces carbon dioxide, water, and energy. Anaerobic respiration also produces energy and uses glucose, but it produces less energy and does not require oxygen.

Explain the relationship between photosynthesis and cellular respiration.

Photosynthesis makes the glucose that is used in cellular respiration to make ATP. The glucose is then turned back into carbon dioxide, which is used in photosynthesis. While water is broken down to form oxygen during photosynthesis, in cellular respiration oxygen is combined with hydrogen to form water.

Know the equation for both photosynthesis and cellular respiration (identify reactants and products).

Photosynthesis- 6CO2+6H2O-->C6H12O6 Cellular Respiration- C6H12O6-->6CO2+6H2O

Recognize what types of organisms use photosynthesis and cellular respiration.

Photosynthesis-Plants, (most) algae, and cyanobacteria Cellular Respiration-Bacteria, archaea, plants, protists, animals, and fungi.

Chlorophyll

a green pigment, present in all green plants and in cyanobacteria, responsible for the absorption of light to provide energy for photosynthesis.

Electron Transport Chain (ETC)

a group of compounds that pass electron from one to another via redox reactions coupled with the transfer of proton across a membrane to create a proton gradient that drives ATP synthesis.

NADPH

a product of the first stage of photosynthesis and is used to help fuel the reactions that take place in the second stage of photosynthesis. Plant cells need light energy, water and carbon dioxide to carry out the steps of photosynthesis.

Thylakoid

a saclike membrane in the chloroplasts of plant cells that is often arranged in stacks called grana and that is the site of the light reactions of photosynthesis.

Grana

a stacked membranous structure within the chloroplasts of plants and green algae that contains the chlorophyll and is the site of the light reactions of photosynthesis.

Stomata

a tiny opening or pore that is used for gas exchange. They are mostly found on the under-surface of plant leaves.

Fermentation

an anaerobic process in which energy can be released from glucose even though oxygen is not available.

Pigments

an organic compound that gives a characteristic color to plant or animal tissues and is involved in vital processes. Chlorophyll, which gives a green color to plants, and hemoglobin, which gives blood its red color, are examples of this.

Heterotroph

an organism deriving its nutritional requirements from complex organic substances.

Autotroph

an organism that is able to form nutritional organic substances from simple inorganic substances such as carbon dioxide (primary producer).

Glucose

can be converted into pyruvate which releases adenosine triphosphate (ATP) by cellular respiration. Oxygen is also formed.

FADH2

created during the Krebs cycle and utilized during the last part of respiration, the electron transport chain.

Explain how different factors (temperature, light, carbon dioxide) can change the rate of photosynthesis.

Without enough light, a plant cannot photosynthesise very quickly - even if there is plenty of water and carbon dioxide and a suitable temperature. Increasing the light intensity increases the rate of photosynthesis, until some other factor - a limiting factor - becomes in short supply.

Cristae

each of the partial partitions in a mitochondrion formed by infolding of the inner membrane.

Photosystem

found mainly in the thylakoid membranes of plants and algae, and in the cytoplasmic membranes of photosynthetic bacteria. It is primarily involved in capturing light to cause a series of redox reactions (foldable).

Anaerobic

glucose breaks down without oxygen. The chemical reaction transfers energy from glucose to the cell. Anaerobic respiration produces lactic acid, rather than carbon dioxide and water.

Lactic Acid

the process by which our muscle cells deal with pyruvate during anaerobic respiration. When our cells need energy, they break down simple molecules like glucose.

Glycolysis

the process in which one glucose molecule is broken down to form two molecules of pyruvic acid (also called pyruvate), and is a multi-step metabolic pathway that occurs in the cytoplasm of animal cells, plant cells, and the cells of microorganisms.

Aerobic

the process of producing cellular energy involving oxygen. Cells break down food in the mitochondria in a long, multi-step process that produces roughly 36 ATP. The first step in is glycolysis, the second is the citric acid cycle and the third is the electron transport system.

Intermembrane Space

the region between the inner membrane and the outer membrane of a mitochondrion or a chloroplast.

Compare light-dependent reactions to light independent reactions.

The light-dependent reac-tions require light and water, occur in the thylakoids, and produce ATP and NADPH. The light-independent reactions require carbon dioxide, occur in the stroma, and produce high-energy sugars.

Cytoplasm

The region of the cell between the cell membrane and the nucleus. Jelly-like consistency so organelles can be suspended in it.

Pyruvic Acid

produced by the breakdown of carbohydrates and sugars during glycolysis, and is converted to acetyl coenzyme A that enters the energy-producing pathway, the Krebs cycle.

Ethanol

produced during alcoholic fermentation when pyruvate and NADH are combined. Other products would include CO2, NAD+, and 2 ATP.

Stroma

refers to the colorless fluid surrounding the grana within the chloroplast. Within this fluid are are grana, stacks of thylakoid, the sub-organelles, the daughter cells, where photosynthesis is commenced before the chemical changes are completed in the stroma.