Biology Chapter 6

Organism that makes its own food using carbon from inorganic molecules such as CO₂ and energy from the environment

Organism that obtains energy and carbon from organic compounds assembled by other organisms

Metabolic pathway by which most autotrophs capture light energy and use it to make sugars from CO₂ and water

Organism that makes its own food using carbon from inorganic sources such as carbon dioxide, and energy from chemical reactions

Photosynthetic autotroph

Main photosynthetic pigment in plants

An organic molecule that can absorb light of certain wavelengths

Distance between the crests of two successive waves

Organelle specialized for photosynthesis in plants and some protists

First stage of photosynthesis; convert light energy to chemical energy of ATP and NADPH

Second stage of photosynthesis; use ATP and NADPH to assemble sugars from water and CO₂

Semifluid matrix between the thylakoid membrane and the two outer membranes of a chloroplast

A chloroplast's highly folded membrane system; forms a continuous compartment in the stroma

Process in which electron flow through electron transfer chains sets up a hydrogen ion gradient that drives ATP formation; also called chemiosmosis

Process by which light energy breaks down a molecule

Cluster of pigments and proteins that converts light energy to chemical energy in photosynthesis

Light-independent reactions of photosynthesis; cyclic carbon-fixing pathway that forms sugars from CO₂

Process by which carbon from an inorganic source such as carbon dioxide gets incorporated into an organic molecule

Ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase - carbon fixing enzyme of the Calvin-Benson cycle

Type of plant that uses only the Calvin-Benson cycle to fix carbon

Type of plant that minimizes photorespiration by fixing carbon twice, in two cell types

Type of C4 plant that conserves water by fixing carbon twice, at different times of day

Reaction in which rubisco attaches oxygen instead of carbon dioxide to ribulose bisphosphate

Gaps that open on plant surfaces; allow water vapor and gases to diffuse across the epidermis