Solar Energy In Plants

The leaves of a plant are the main photosynthetic organs and are involved in gas exchange and water transportation throughout a plant (Evans et al, 17). A leaf typically consists of an upper and lower epidermis, the mesophyll cells, veins, guard cells and stomata. The mesophyll cells contains spongey cells which have large gaps between each cell to allow oxygen and carbon dioxide circulation. The mesophyll cells contain palisade cells, which are located beneath the upper epidermis. The palisade cells contain many chloroplasts, which are green organelles. Located in the internal layers of chloroplasts is the pigment chlorophyll which is involved in trapping the light energy in photosynthesis (Evans et al, 17).

Abstract: The purpose of this lab is to separate and identify pigments and other molecules within plant cells by a process called chromatography. We will also be measuring the rate of photosynthesis in isolated chloroplasts. Beta carotene, the most abundant carotene in plants, is carried along near the solvent front because it is very soluble in the solvent being used and because it forms no hydrogen bonds with cellulose. Xanthophyll is found further from the solvent font because it is less soluble in the solvent and has been slowed down by hydrogen bonding to the cellulose. Chlorophylls contain oxygen and nitrogen and are bound more tightly to the paper than the other pigments.

According to Oregon State University, there are three types of classes that plant pigments can fall under. They are, chlorophylls, carotenoids, and anthocyanins (Carol Savonen 2003). Often the pigments that fall under the category of chlorophyll look green to the eye. This is because they are absorbing all colors of the spectrum except for green. Next, the pigments that are known as carotenoids are going to look yellow or orange, due to the same reasoning. They are absorbing all colors but yellow and orange. Lastly, the anthocyanins will absorb blue and green, reflecting either purple or red (Volner Silva 2016). As the chromatography takes place and the solution is separated into its component substances, they will display the colors of the specific pigments present in them. For example, if Chlorophyll A is present in a leaf, the chromatography will show a blue-green color, while if xanthophylls, another type of plant pigment, are present, the chromatography will exhibit a yellow color. On the other hand, if the anthocyanin pigments are present in the leaf, the chromatography experiment should have resulted in red, blue, purple, or magenta colors (Joy Alkema and Spencer L. Seagerl 1982). Specific to this experiment, the green leaves should display more pigments under the chlorophyll category, while on the other hand, the darker leaves should display more pigments that fall

Most of the processes that are critical for our day-to-day lives are driven by energy provided by the Sun. Energy from the Sun warms the planet and keeps the global temperature within a range that allows life to flourish. The energy stored in the food you eat can be traced back to the Sun, through the conversion of solar energy to chemical energy in the process of photosynthesis. You might think that the gasoline that makes your car run or the oil that

To understand pigments and their part in the essential process of photosynthesis, we constructed an experiment to discover first-hand the effectiveness of specific pigments found in pimento leaves. These two exercises would specifically focus on the difference in polarities and the different wavelengths at which each pigment absorbs light. The ultimate source of energy for most organisms is sunlight. This research expresses the importance in understanding the driving force behind crucial photosynthetic organisms that are responsible for converting solar energy into chemical energy and ultimately the fixation of carbon dioxide. The polarity of three of the specific pigments studied, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and xanthophylls, was determined by separating the plant pigments by paper chromatography and calculating their Rf values. Once the pigments separated along the paper chromatography strip, we cut the different pigments bands and eluted them from the paper into a beaker filled with acetone. We were then able to analyze the wavelengths of light absorbed by the pigments through the use of a spectrophotometer. We predicted the wavelengths for chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, anthocyanidins, xanthophylls, and carotenoids. From the first experiment we were able to determine that xanthophylls, which traveled the farthest of the three, was

Pigments inside chloroplasts absorb the light. There are three types of pigment which allows the absorption of light of different wavelength, chlorophyll A, chlorophyll B and Carotenoids. They absorb light energy and thus help in initiation of the process through excitation of electron in the photosystem. Light coming from sun have rays of different colour of different wavelengths and the amount of light absorbed from chlorophyll might alter the rate of photosynthesis. To understand which wavelength chlorophyll absorbs the most we have to study the absorption spectra of chlorophyll.

The chloroplast contains the pigment chlorophyll which traps light energy (Yablonski, 16). Chloroplasts give leaves their green color by the pigments chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, carotene and xanthophyll found in chlorophyll; the pigments chlorophyll a and b are separated from the other two pigments through chromatography to determine their absorbance levels (Griffith, 438). These pigments absorb and reflect certain wavelength of the visible spectrum which gives the leaf its green color; it absorbs wavelengths which are red and blue but reflect the yellow and green wavelengths of the spectrum making the leaf appear green in color to the human eye (Glover, et al, 505). Therefore the wavelengths which were reflected make up the colour of the leaves (Glover, et al, 505). This chromatographic separation was conducted to extract the different pigment in the chloroplast extract and to separate each of the different components (Quach, et al, 385). The wavelengths which are absorbed by each chlorophyll pigment are different and are based on the visible spectrum. Chlorophyll a obtains most of its energy from the violet blue, reddish orange and a low amount of the green-yellow-orange wavelengths regions of the visible spectrum compared to chlorophyll b which absorbs all the wavelengths not absorbed by chlorophyll a (Shibghatallah, et al, 3). From the results in the lab, it can be seen that the absorbance values determined fluctuate a lot, which resulted in a graph with more than one peak and downfalls. The highest peak determined by this experiment occurred at 660 nm for both chlorophylls. This can be confirmed by Schmid and his team who determined that the wavelength of chlorophyll a occurs between 660-680 nm whereas chlorophyll b absorbs wavelengths between 645-660 nm (Schmid, et al, 30). Thus, we can conclude by saying the spectroscopy helped us determine accurate

The concepts of pigments in metabolism are applicable to this condition and are important in societal understanding. Pigments can be found in leaves, medicine, and food. Pigments contain chlorophyll a and b depending on the type of plant, where chorin wavelengths of both colors of blue and yellow are shown in the white light. This color gives the plant a green pigment. Plants reflecting green pigments are when the bouncing through the accessory pigments, going to the antenna complex, and then going to the reaction center occurs on a leaf. This bouncing of color of the leaf happens during the process of photosynthesis and absorbing all other colors in ROYGBIV. Anthocyanins comes from Greek origins meaning anthos =flower and kyanos=blue. Anthocyanin pigmentation is evident in foods mainly in fruits and vegetables, resulting in the blues, greens, purples, and red flavonoid pigments

The photosynthesis lab is comprised of three short experiments. These experiments showed how to understand and apply the absorbance spectrum and which colors and wavelengths correspond to visible light. In order to fully understand this absorbance spectrum and how to apply it, we initially prepared a substance comprised of acetone, a large spinach leaf and petroleum ether and measured its absorbance in the spectrophotometer. This showed us what wavelengths corresponded to the most absorption of the spinach leaf. It is understood that the least amount of absorbance should occur after 500 nm and the lower the number, the lower the absorbency. Thus, the 700 ranges is the very least amount of absorbency and the results showed us that the lowest amount of absorbance was around 740nm, which is an accurate, representation of this solution. Next, to understand what wavelengths of light drive the light reactions you can visibly see in photosynthesis, we used CMS in a variety of tubes and measured its absorbency under white light, no light, and colored filters such as red and green. We then used the chlorophyll extract we originally prepared and painted this on a chromatography strip. We measured the band distances to find out the number of pigments in the spinach leaf. These processes helped emphasize how the chloroplast pigment extract and chloroplast membrane suspension have different functional capabilities and how photosynthesis works.

By examining the absorption spectra of pigment extracts over a range of wavelengths unique aspects of plant tissues can be identified. By examining the absorption level of each pigment over a range of time unique similarities and differences can be identified.

Abstract Photosynthesis is the primary focus of this experiment. We did a couple different tests in order to find out how the pigments in plants make photosynthesis possible. Paper chromatography was carried out in order to find out the solubility and polarity of each pigment we tested. Also each pigment was put in spectrophotometer to measure the absorption and wavelengths. Out of the four pigments we tested, our accessory pigment β-

All plants are autotrophs meaning they capture energy from different environments through a process called photosynthesis. Many plants, photoautotrophs, are a sore example of organisms that make their own food by harnessing the suns energy. Plants use the sun’s energy and convert it to chemical energy to create organic molecules to aid in ecosystem advancement. Additionally, photoautotrophs serve as a source of food for many consumers as they provide energy and building materials for cells and body parts.

On the other hand leaf colors have red, yellow, and orange pigment are outcomes of carotenoids; blues, violets, pinks, purples, and dark reds are made from anthocyanins.   The conclusions students made were somewhat correct as they finished the experiment.   The only row students got correct was that there is starch present in chlorophyll pigment, where as the other rows students got wrong.

As sunlight is absorbed by the plants they stars the process of photosynthesis. When chlorophyll absorbs the light energy, an electron gains energy and it is excited. This excited electron is transferred to other molecule which is called primary electron acceptor. The chlorophyll molecule is oxidized and has a positive charge on it. This results in the splitting of water molecule and the transfer of energy to ATP (adenosine triphosphate) and reduce NADP (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate).ATP is an energy source and NADP is an electron donor. They both plays important role in the photosynthesis process. Photosynthesis takes place in the leaves of plants

For lab 12, it is hypothesized that chlorophylls a and b are present in a plant leaf and contribute to the starch production in photosynthesis. Also, products of photosynthesis will be present in leaf tissue exposed to red and blue light wavelengths for several days, but a decreased presence in leaf tissue exposed to green and black light wavelengths. In lab 13, it is expected that since chlorophylls a and b are more polar and smaller molecules than the anthyocyanins and carotenoids, they will travel higher up the chromatography paper than the other pigments.