Photosynthesis Terms

2. The light-absorbing green-coloured pigment that begins the process of photosynthesis.
5. A membrane-bound organelle in green plant and algal cells that carries out photosynthesis.
7. A cluster of photosynthetic pigments embedded in a thylakoid membrane of a chloroplast that absorbs light energy.
8. A reaction in which an atom or molecule loses electrons.
9. A process for synthesizing ATP using the energy of an electrochemical gradient and the ATP synthase enzyme.
11. The first set of reactions of photosynthesis in which light energy excites electrons in chlorophyll molecules, powers chemiosmotic ATP synthesis, and results in the reduction of NADP+ to NADPH.
12. A compound that accepts one hydrogen atom and two electrons, forming NADPH; is an electron acceptor.
13. The photosynthetic membrane within a chloroplast that contains light-gathering pigment molecules and electron transport chains.
15. A series of progressively stronger electron acceptors; each time an electron is transferred, energy is released.
19. Stacks of thylakoids.
20. Groups of unstacked thylakoids between grana.
23. A system of interconnected flattened membrane sacs forming a separate compartment within the stroma of a chloroplast.

1. A reaction in which an atom or molecule gains electrons.
3. The second set of reactions in photosynthesis (the Calvin Cycle); these reactions do not require solar energy.
4. A chemical reaction in which a compound is broken down by light; in photosynthesis, water molecules are split by this.
6. A specialized protein complex embedded in the thylakoid membrane that allows H+ ions to escape from the lumen and uses the resulting energy to generate ATP.
10. The process of incorporating CO2 into carbohydrate molecules.
13. The fluid-filled space inside a thylakoid.
14. A compound that donates one hydrogen atom and two electrons to another molecule, to reform NADP+; is an electron donor.
16. A molecule containing two high-energy phosphate bonds that may be formed by breaking one of the phosphate bonds in ATP.
17. A packet of light.
18. A cyclic set of reaction occurring in the stroma of chloroplasts that fixes the carbon of CO2 into carbohydrate molecules and recycles coenzymes.
21. A molecule containing three high-energy phosphate bonds that acts as the primary energy-transferring molecule in living organisms.
22. The protein-rich semiliquid material in the interior of a chloroplast.