| A | B |
|---|
| photon | a packet of light |
| chlorophyll | the light-absorbing green-coloured pigment that begins the process of photosynthesis |
| chloroplast | membrane-bound organelle in green plants and algae where photosynthesis takes place |
| stroma | protein-rich semiliquid material in the interior of chloroplast |
| thylakoid | system of interconnected flattened membrane sacs forming a separate compartment within the stoma of the chloroplast |
| grana (s. granum) | stacks of thylakoids |
| lamellae | groups of unstacked thylakoids between grana |
| thylakoid membrane | the photosynthetic membrane within a chloroplast that contains light-gathering pigments and electron transport chains |
| thylakoid lumen | fluid-filled space inside a thylakoid |
| ATP | a molecule containing three high-energy phosphate bonds that acts as the energy-transferring molecule in living organisms (usable form of energy) |
| ADP | a molecule containing two high-energy phosphate bonds that may be formed by breaking one of the bonds in ATP |
| NADP+ | a compound that accepts one hydrogen atom and two electrons forming NADPH; electron acceptor |
| NADPH | a compound that donates one hydrogen atom and two electrons to another molecule to reform NADP+; electron donor |
| light-dependent reactions | the first set of reactions in photosynthesis - light energy excites electrons in chlorophyll molecules, powers chemiosmotic ATP synthesis, and reduces NADP+ to NADPH |
| carbon fixation | process of incorporating CO2 into carbohydrate molecules |
| Calvin Cycle | a cyclical set of reactions occurring in the stroma of chloroplasts that fixes the carbon from CO2 into carbohydrate molecules and recycles coenzymes |
| light-independent reactions | the second set of reactions in photosynthesis (the Calvin Cycle) - do not require solar energy |
| photosystem | cluster of photosynthetic pigments embedded in a thylakoid membrane of a chloroplast that absorbs light |
| electron transport chain (ETC) | a series of progressively stronger electron acceptors; each time an electron is transferred energy is released |
| photolysis | a chemical reaction in which compound is broken down by light - in photosynthesis, water molecules are split by photolysis |
| oxidation | a reaction in which an atom or molecule LOSES electrons |
| reduction | a reaction in which an atom or molecule GAINS electrons |
| ATP synthase complex | a specialized protein complex embedded in the thylakoid membrane that allows H+ ions to escape from the lumen and uses the resulting energy to make ATP |
| chemiosmosis | a process for synthesizing ATP using the energy of an electrochemical gradient and the ATP synthase enzyme |
