Term | Definition |
autotroph | an organism that produces its own nutrients from inorganic substances or from the environment |
chloroplast | an organelle found in plant and algae cells where photosynthesis occurs |
chlorophyll | a green pigment that is present in most plant cells, gives them their green color, and that reacts with sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water to form carbs |
carotenoid | a class of pigments that are present in the thylakoid membrane of plants and that assists in photosynthesis |
chemiosmosis | in chloroplasts and mitochondria, a process in which the movement of protons down their concentration gradient across a membrane is coupled to ATP synthesis |
electron transport chain | a series of molecules, found in the inner membrane of mitochondria and chloroplasts, through which electrons pass in a process that causes protons to build up on one side of the membrane |
granum | a stack of thylakoids in a chloroplast |
light reactions | the initial reactions in photosynthesis, which are triggered by the absorption of light |
photosynthesis | the process by which plants, algae, and some bacteria use sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water to produce carbohydrates and oxygen |
pigment | a substance that gives another substance or mixture its color |
photosystem | in the thylakoid membranes in chloroplasts, a cluster of chlorophyll and other pigment molecules that harvest light energy for the light reactions of photosynthesis |
primary electron acceptor | in chloroplasts, an acceptor of electrons lost from chlorophyll a; found in the thylakoid membrane |
stroma | in plants, the solution that surrounds the thylakoid in chloroplasts |
thylakoid | a membrane system found within chloroplasts hat contains the components for photosynthesis |
heterotroph | an organism that obtains organic food molecules by eating other organisms or their byproducts |