PHOTOSYNTHESIS

-Process plants use to take CO2+ H2O+ sunlight and turn them into carbohydrates and O2

CO2 + H2O + photons  C6H12O6 (carbohydrates) + O2

Light Dependent Reactions:

- Needs photons and water to occur

- Produces ATP and NADPH (able to give away the hydrogen and the electron associated
with it—oxidized) OIL RIG (Oxidation is losing an electron/ reduction is gaining an
electron-charge is reduced)
- NADHPH is a reducing agent

-Building a hydrogen ion concentration gradient (can be used to fuel production of ATP through
ATP synthase)

-Photosystem II uses an oxidizing agent to grab an electron from water (water splitting), so
you’re left with the oxygen and hydrogen ions

-this makes the oxygen byproduct

-PS II’s oxidizing agent can also receive electrons from light

-the process of electrons moving from a high energy state to a lower energy state (PS II to PS I)
fuels the pumping of hydrogen protons into the thylakoid space

-In Photosystem I, light can either directly or indirectly excite its electron, and that electron will
be used to reduce NADP+ into NADPH

-Once PS I gets rid of its electron, it wants another one, and it can get that from an electron
that’s making its way through PS II

-the buildup of hydrogen ions in the thylakoid space provides energy for ATP synthase to turn
ADP into ATP

Light Independent Reactions (Calvin Cycle):

- CO2 enters the interior of a leaf via pores called stomata and diffuses into the stroma of the
chloroplast
-takes in ATP and NADPH (products from the light reactions) and CO2, and produces PGAL
(phosphoglyceraldehyde)

PGAL is 3 carbons with a phosphate group attached to it  can be used to build another
carbohydrate

-6CO2 reacts with 6 RuBp (Ribulose bisphosphate), a 5 carbon chain with 2 phosphates
attached to form 12 molecules of PGAL (3 carbons + a phosphate group)

-we have 36 carbons at this point

-Energy for this reaction comes from 12 ATP’s and 12 NADPH’s

-These leave as 12 ADP’s and 12 Pi (phosphate groups) and 12 NADP+

 - The reason why NADPH is a source of energy is because the electrons in it are
in a very high energy state—as it goes to a lower energy state, it helps drive a
reaction

- Called a cycle because the system reuses 10 PGAL’s to recreate the RuBp’s from the beginning

- this system uses 6 ATP’s

-the other 2 PGAL’s can be used to make a glucose, a 6-carbon molecule (or any other sugars)

-This is carbon fixation: turning carbon from an inorganic form into and organic form (glucose)

-Occurs in the stroma

-RuBisCo is an enzyme that allows the CO2 to bind and ATP to react, etc. (facilitates the entire
process)

-does not use ATP, only catalyzes the reaction between CO2 and RuBp