Question

What is the difference between chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b?

Answer 1

In the process of photosynthesis (to prepare the food) carried by the plants chlorophyll is the necessary pigment found in them.
Chlorophyll is the green pigment found in green plants so that it absorbs the light and converts it into two types of energy storing molecules.

Complete answer:
Chlorophyll A and B are two major types of chlorophyll found in plants and green algae.
Both are involved in the process of photosynthesis.
Both chlorophyll A and B are found in chloroplasts, associated with integral membrane proteins in the thylakoid membrane.
The main difference between chlorophyll A and B is their role in photosynthesis.
So, difference between chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b is:

Chlorophyll a	Chlorophyll b
1. It is a principal pigment that captures energy.	1. It is the accessory pigment that collects the sunlight and gives it to the chlorophyll a.
2. It absorbs the light that ranges from 430 to 660 nm.	2. It absorbs light that ranges from 450 to 650 nm.
3. It reflects blue green colour	3. It reflects yellow green colour
4. Molecular weight is 839.1g/mol	4. Molecular weight is 907.49g/mol
5. It accounts for three-fourth of the total chlorophyll in plants.	5. It accounts for one-third of the total chlorophyll in plants.
6. Solubility is low in polar solvents	6. Solubility is high in polar solvents
7. It is present at the reaction centre of the antennae of array	7. It regulates the size of antennae.
8. It is found in algae, plants and cyanobacteria.	8. It is found in green plants.

Note: Chlorophyll was first isolated and named by Joseph Bienaimé Caventou and Pierre Joseph Pelletier in 1817.
The presence of magnesium in chlorophyll was discovered in 1906 and was that element's first detection in living tissue.
In some plants, chlorophyll is derived from glutamate and is synthesized along a branched biosynthetic pathway that is shared with heme and siroheme.