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Photosynthesis: Light Reactions

Submitted by mpetracchi on Tue, 10/29/2019 - 11:23

Plants require light energy and water to produce energy-rich compounds which can later be used to fuel sugar making mechanisms. In order to first capture light energy, a plant will use chlorophylls a and b in a chloroplast. These kinds of chlorophylls absorb red and blue light, therefore reflect green light waves and appear green to us. The electrons are captured in photosystem 2 and transferred to photosystem 1 and eventually to the NADP reductase where they are used to add a Hydrogen to it and make NADPH. Water is broken down in photosystem 2, removing the hydrogen and producing free hydrogen and a diatomic oxygen molecule. The hydrogen goes into the thylakoid lumen of a chloroplast to create a high gradient that is then used to drive ATP synthase to make ADP into ATP. 

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