Term | Definition |
autotroph | organisms that use energy form sunlight to from chemical bonds in inorganic substances to make organic compounds |
photosynthesis | most autotrophs use this process to convert light energy from the sun into chemical energy in the form of organics compounds |
heterotroph | animals and other organisms that must get energy from food instead of directly from sunlight or inorganic substances |
light reactions | the first stage of photosynthesis ; they require light to happen |
thylakoid | a system of membranes inside the inner membrane that are arranged as flattened sacs |
chloroplasts | organelles found in cells of plants and algae |
granum | the thylakoids that are connected, and layered to form these stacks |
stroma | the solution surrounding the grana |
pigment | compounds that absorb light |
chlorophyll | a green pigment that is present in most plant cells, that gives plants their characteristic green color, and that reacts with sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water to form carbohydrates |
carotenoid | a class of pigments that are present mostly in plants and that aid in photosynthesis |
photosystem | each cluster of pigment molecules and the proteins that the pigment molecules are embedded in are referred to |
primary electron acceptor | the acceptor of the electrons lost from chlorophyll a is a molecule in the thylakoid membrane called _______________ |
electron transport chain | a series of molecules located in the thylakoid membrane that transfer electrons from one molecule to the next |
chemiosmosis | in chloroplasts and mitochondria, a process in which the movement or protons down their concentration gradient cross a membrane is coupled to the synthesis of ATP |