Question
Question: What happens to Sunlight in Photosynthesis?...
What happens to Sunlight in Photosynthesis?
Solution
The role of Sunlight in photosynthesis – the daylight supplies energy for the food making process called photosynthesis. The sun's energy is captured by plant leaves with the help of chlorophyll and converted into energy for food. This energy gets stored within the type of fertilizer. The two kinds of reactions which are involved in photosynthesis. These reactions are light reactions and dark reactions. Light reactions can occur when only sunlight is present, while dark reactions can occur when sunlight is absent.
Complete answer:
When light strikes chlorophyll (or an adjunct pigment) within the chloroplast, it energizes electrons within that molecule. These electrons jump to higher energy levels. High-energy electrons are “excited”. The excited electrons leave chlorophyll and participate in further reactions, leaving the chlorophyll “at a loss”. Eventually they have to be replaced. That replacement process also requires light, working with an enzyme complex to separate water molecules. During photolysis of water (splitting by light), water molecules are broken into hydrogen ions, electrons, and oxygen atoms. The electrons will replace those which are originally lost from chlorophyll. Hydrogen ions and thus the high-energy electrons from chlorophyll will keep up the energy transformation drama after the sunshine reactions are over.
Excited electrons which absorb light energy are unstable. However, the highly organized electron carrier molecules embedded in chloroplast membranes order the flow of these electrons and direct them through electron transport chains where ATP synthase uses their energy to bond a phosphate group to ADP making ATP chemically.
Light re-energizes the electrons, which they travel down a second electron transport chain (ETC), eventually bonding hydrogen ions to NADP+ to form a more stable energy storage molecule, NADPH. Final products of sunshine reaction are ATP, NADPH and Oxygen. Dark reactions depend on products of sunshine reactions.
Note:
Sunlight has many different colors in it. Chlorophyll normally absorbs red and blue light from the sun and reflects green light. It's the green light reflecting which makes some leaves look green! Within the autumn, some plants stop producing chlorophyll which we see leaves change color. With the chlorophyll gone, the green light isn't being reflected anymore. There are other pigments in plants also, which is why not all plants look green. Carotenoids reflect Inner Light the red-orange and yellow area of the spectrum and are found in high concentrations in plants like carrots, pumpkins, and fall leaves.