Biology Unit 4

Revision Notes

Topic 5: On the wild side

2. Describe the structure of chloroplasts in
relation to their role in photosynthesis.

Chloroplast
Chloroplasts are large organelles, usually in a biconvex shape, and about 4-10 µm long and 2-3µ
wide.

 Within plants most chloroplasts are found in the mesophyll cells of the leaves.
 The stages of photosynthesis take place within the chloroplast, stage 1 within the granum
and stage 2 within the stroma.

Photosynthesis takes place in the chloroplasts. These are disc-shaped organelles surrounded by an
outer envelope of 2 layers of membrane. Inside, there are further membranes which are arranged in
stacks called grana. Surrounding these is the stroma. Chlorophyll and other light-capturing pigments
are found on the membranes of the grana and it is here that the light-dependant reaction takes
place. This generates the ATP and reduced NADP which are used in the light-independent reaction in
the stroma.

Chlorophyll
This is the light-capturing, photosynthetic pigment made up of 5 closely related pigments. Each of
the pigments absorbs and captures light from particular areas of the spectrum. As a result, far more
of the energy from the light falling on the plant can be used than if only one pigment was involved.

Text Book: p. 12-13

Biology Unit 4
Revision Notes

Structure Function(s) Features

Thylakoid membrane Light dependent reactions Contains chlorophyll, other
a system of interconnected accessory pigments, electron
flattened fluid-filled sacs carriers
Thylakoid Space Photolysis of water Photolysis enzyme(s)
fluid within the thylakoid
membrane
Granum Site for light-dependent Large surface area to absorb
a stack of thylakoids joined to reactions more light for photosynthesis
one another
Stroma Light-independent reactions Enzymes for all LIR stages
The fluid surrounding the including Rubisco
thylakoid membranes.
Outer membrane Fully permeable to CO2 and Many open protein channels
H2O
Inner membrane Permeable to many substances Gated and active transport
which need to enter or leave channels, together with open
the chloroplast channels

Video Tutorials:
 http://brightstorm.com/science/biology/parts-of-a-cell/chloroplast/

Text Book: p. 12-13