[AP Bio] Light wavelength significance for photosynthesis?
I am writing an analysis based on a theoretical labreport made by other ''students,'' and for the lab they were goingto experiment on 'the amount of light and the wavelength of light.'and its significance for photosynthesis. I wrote the theory partbelow but I am not sure if I should elaborate on anything inparticular, or if something is redundant, irrelevant,etc.
I want the theory to be factual and relevant, that is,for it to explain the theories needed to explain and analyze theresult in the discussion, also for it to include concepts andphenomena and explain them in-depth and correct way..thoughts?
THEORY:
Most of the energy that hits our planet comes from the sun,and this is energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation over alarge wavelength spectrum. The light that hits the earth is veryimportant for photosynthesis. Leaf dyes such as chlorophyll andcarotene capture energy from the light and absorb red and bluelight as they have a great effect on photosynthesis. These dyes arecalled pigments and are found in photosynthetic organisms, thesepigments being the light-absorbing molecules that absorb onlyspecific wavelengths of light, while reflecting other wavelengths.Chlorophyll is a green pigment that is common to all photosyntheticcells, and reflects green light while absorbing other wavelengths,which explains why most of us can see a plant as green.
Generally, there are five major types of chlorophyll,chlorophyll a, b, c, d as well as a molecule found in prokaryotesand called bacterial chlorophyll. Chlorophyll a and b are the mostimportant pigments for photosynthesis. Chlorophyll is found inalgae and cyanobacteria, while chlorophyll b is found in greenalgae and plants. Chlorophyll is found in the thylakoids of thechloroplasts, which are surrounded by its own membrane, the lumen,and is in addition to the inner and outer membranes of thechloroplasts, the third membrane, and it is within the thylakoidsthat the photosynthetic light-dependent reaction takes place. Thepigment molecules, together with proteins, are used to form achemical structure called a photosystem. Each photosystem containsproteins and captures energy-rich photons through the chlorophyllcontained in the photosystem. The energy is then used to break downwater into oxygen, electron and hydrogen ion. The hydrogen ionconcentration, in turn, becomes higher within the thylakoidmembrane, or lumen in other words. Further, ATP synthase utilizesthese hydrogen ions to produce ATP, which is later used in thenon-light dependent reaction. ATP is the cell's energy source, butis rather short-lived in the cell and is therefore used to producesugar.
By measuring how fast it is possible to absorb carbondioxide, or how fast carbohydrates are formed, or how fast oxygenis released, we can determine the rate of photosynthesis. Thisspeed is characterized by the brightness, as well as theavailability of carbon dioxide. It can be noted that the change inphotosynthesis rate is relative to wavelength, which can beobtained by measuring photosynthesis rate when illuminating a plantwith the light of different wavelengths, but that they have thesame energy content. Short-wave radiation, such as X-rays andultraviolet light, contains more energy than long-waveradiation.
Theoretically, the light intensity should not be aseffective in connection with the growing distance from which thelamp emits its light to the beaker. It is said that the lightintensity has an inverse proportion to the square of the distance;thus, this is the inverse square law. Thus, it can be described as:I ∠1 / d2, where d stands for the distance in the unit meter, Istands for the light intensity with the unit W / m2, where W standsfor watts or energy per second, and where ∠stands forproportion.
