PHOTOSYNTHESIS THE CHEMICAL REACTION

This is learning by enquiry - research your answers. You may work as a group, but everyone needs to
compile a full set of answers.

Firstly a reminder about the basics of photosynthesis:
Q.1 a) What are the raw materials taken in by a photosynthesising green plant, in order to make its
own organic food?
The raw materials that are taken in by the photosynthesising green plants are water and carbon
dioxide.

b) What else does the plant need from the environment in order to react the raw materials
together?
It needs sunlight.

c) There must be a sort of biological catalyst present in order to enable the combining of the
raw materials. What is his substance?
It is chlorophyll.

d) The raw materials are reacted together to form which organic compound)
They form glucose.

e) Photosynthesis produces an important waste product what?
It is oxygen.

f) Now you should be able to write the word formula for the photosynthesis reaction the raw
materials (reactants or substrates) react together to form products.
Carbon dioxide + water + light energy --- glucose + oxygen + water

g) Finally, write the balanced chemical or molecular formula for photosynthesis.
6CO
2
+ 6H
2
O ------> C
6
H
12
O
6
+ 6O
2

Now lets look at the raw materials and resources and where they come from. Assume all the time that
we are taking about a rooted, leafy, green plant your answers might be a little different if we were
talking about algae in the oceans.

Q.2 CHLOROPHYLL
a) Green plants actually make their own chlorophyll. Chlorophyll contains one important
mineral ion, which must be absorbed from the soil. What is it?
Magnesium.

b) Chlorophyll does not simply hang around inside plant cells, waiting for a bit of sun! The
chlorophyll is found inside tiny organelles in photosynthesising cells. It is inside these
organelles where most of the photosynthesis reaction occurs. What are these organelles
called. Make a simple drawing of one.









c) Very briefly, what do you understand by: i) the light dependent reaction;
ii) the light independent reaction?
i) With ought light, the reaction couldnt have happened.
ii) Is a reaction that only happens when light is available.

Q.3 CARBON DIOXIDE
a) About what percentage of the earths atmosphere is carbon dioxide?
0.24%

b) Is this percentage rising or falling? Why? What might the effect of the change be on the
rate of photosynthesis? (Be very brief with your answers here.)
c) Where in plant leaves does the carbon dioxide enter?
Carbon Dioxide enters the leaf through the stomata, which are openings on the underside of
the leaf where the exchange of gases occurs.

d) A green plant will not be absorbing carbon dioxide a full 24 hours a day. It will therefore
not be photosynthesising a full 24 hours. When will the plants not be absorbing carbon
dioxide?
At night.

Q.4 WATER
a) From where do green plants obtain their water?
From there roots, stem and leaves.

b) So, which parts of the plants must the water travel through in order to reach the leaves,
where most of the photosynthesis takes places? Draw a simple diagram of a plant (root, stem,
leaves) to illustrate the water flow through it.











c) As you saw in Q.3 d), photosynthesis does not take place a full 24 hours a day. Yet water
does come up through the plant a full 24 hours a day. What happens to the excess water? How
might you know this by looking at a plant in the early morning? Very briefly explain the
physics behind this process.
It comes out of the leaves as a waste, we can tell because there are water drops in the leaves.

Q.5 ENERGY/SUNLIGHT
a) Roughly which wavelengths of light are used for photosynthesis? How do you know this
from a simple observation about green plants?
Blue and Red, because they are reflected from the leaves.

b) A green plant must be able to maximise photosynthesis and absorb as much light as
possible. It therefore has packed chloroplasts in the leaves. But how are the leaves and whole
stems and branches arranged in order to maximise sunlight absorption? Draw some simple
diagrams. Remember that plants in the tropics and in the north and/or south latitudes may
have different characteristics.

c) See if you can find some figures for the amount of sunlight absorbed by green plants on the
Earths surface.




Q.6 OXYGEN
a) Plants, like all living organisms, use oxygen all the time. For what reaction?
For respiration.

b) But they give off more oxygen while they are photosynthesising. This oxygen accumulates
in the atmosphere. What percentage of the atmosphere is oxygen?
20%

c) There will probably be two times during 24 hours when the amount of oxygen absorbed
into the plant equals the amount of oxygen generated in photosynthesis. What is the word
used to describe these moments in the day?

d) Why can we say that this point of balance between oxygen consumption and generation
occurs twice during 24 hours?

Q.7 CARBOHYDRATES
Glucose is first formed by all green plants, but this is rapidly converted into other
carbohydrates and organic compounds, which the plant can store or use.
a) What is the principle storage chemical which plants accumulate in their leaves or roots or
even stems?
Starch.
b) Some plants might use the glucose which they make, right away. For which reaction?
Photosynthesis.
c) What two other types of chemical compound might the glucose be converted into?
Lipids.
d) What does a green plant use these chemical compounds for?