1.  Be able to define the following words.  Give examples where appropriate.
 

photosynthesis	autotrophs	heterotrophs
chlorophyll	mesophyll	stomata (stoma)
light reactions	Calvin cycle	NADP+
photophosphorylation	carbon fixation	wavelength
electromagnetic spectrum	visible light	photons
spectrophotometer	absorption spectrum	chlorophyll a
action spectrum	chlorophyll b	carotenoids
photosystems	reaction center	primary electron acceptor
photosystem I	photosystem II	noncyclic electron flow
noncyclic photophosphorylation	cyclic electron flow	cyclic photophosphorylation
glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (G3P)	rubisco	C3 plants
photorespiration	C4 plants	bundle-sheath cells
mesophyll cells	PEP carboxylase	crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM)
CAM plants

2.  What is the overall equation for photosynthesis?  What gets reduced and what gets oxidized?
3.  Are plants autotrophs or heterotrophs?  What specific classification do they have?  What are chemoautotrophs?
4.  Where do you find chloroplasts in plants?  Where is the major site of photosynthesis?  What particular location?  How does gas exchange - an important part of photosynthesis - occur?
5.  Compare and contrast mitochondria and chloroplasts.
6.  Understand the van Niel experiment and what the results mean.  Know where the "input" reactants in photosynthesis  go when they become products.
7.  What is the relationship between energy and wavelength in the EM spectrum?  Where does visible light fit into the spectrum?  Name some types of waves that are higher in energy or lower in energy than visible light waves.  Does violet or red visible light have the shortest wavelength?
8.  What is a photon?  How is it related to wavelength?
9.  What is a spectrophotometer?  What does it measure?  How can we use it to determine an absorption spectrum or an actio spectrum?  What are these two types of spectra?  Understand why the absorption spectrum for chlorophyll and the action spectrum for chloroplasts differ.  Explain why chloroplasts appear green.  Know what colors of light chlorophyll absorbs best.
10.  What is the difference between chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b?  Why is this beneficial to the photosynthetic process?  What are carotenoids and what is their function?
11.  What happens to the wavelengths of light that get absorbed by chlorophyll and other pigments?  What happens to the ENERGY associated with those wavelengths?  What does the energy of an incoming photon do to an electron in a pigment molecule?  Why do photons corresponding to only certain wavelengths excite electrons in each particular type of pigment molecule?  What happens when excited electrons fall back to ground level?  What color does chlorophyll fluoresce?
12.  How is chlorophyll different in the chloroplast than when it is isolated in the laboratory?  How is chlorophyll arranged in the chloroplast and where (in the chloroplast, spatially) is it found?
13.  What is an antenna complex and what is its purpose?
14.  What type of chlorophyll is located in the reaction center?  What other molecule is located in the reaction center and what is its purpose?
15.  What gets oxidized and reduced when the reaction center chlorophyll a molecule passes its excited electrons on to the primary electron acceptor in the reaction center?  Does chlorophyll that is located in a reaction center fluoresce like isolated chlorophyll?
16.  How did photosystem I and photosystem II get their names?  What is the difference between them?  Since they both contain identical chlorophyll a molecules in the reaction center, why do they have slightly different light absorbing properties?
17.  Describe, step by step, the light reactions.  Explain how light is absorbed and how the energy is passed through the antenna complex.  Explain what happens when the energy reaches the reaction center chlorophyll.  What molecule replaces the electrons lost in P680?  What is the product?  What is produced as electrons fall down the electron transport chain between PSII and PSI?  What is this process called?  What is produced when electrons get excited from PSI (P700)?
18.  Explain the difference between noncyclic and cyclic electron flow, and explain why both occur.  Understand the terms noncyclic photophosphorylation and cyclic photophosphorylation.
19.  Understand where chemiosmosis occurs in chloroplasts.  Know where the H⁺ ion gradient is formed, and how the ATP synthase is oriented in the membrane - where is the round part that sticks out of the membrane - (where is ATP made)?  Compare and contrast this with the mitochondrion.
20.  Understand the Calvin cycle.  Explain why the cycle turns THREE times for every G3P that gets produced.  What do we call the incorporation of inorganic CO₂ into organic molecules?  What enzyme catalyzes this reaction?  What drives the Calvin cycle?  How much ATP and NADPH get used?  Note how many of the intermediates in the Calvin cycle are the same as intermediates in glycolysis.  Explain how the Calvin cycle is a "cycle".
21.  Understand the alternate mechanisms of carbon fixation discussed in your book.  Explain WHY plants use alternate mechanisms of carbon fixation.
22.  What are C₃ plants?  Know some examples of agricultural importance.  What is photorespiration and how is it "wasteful"?  Why do we think photorespiration exists?  If we could prevent photorespiration, what do we think it would do for crop yields?
23.  What re C₄ plants?  Know some examples of agricultural importance.  Understand the anatomy of C₄ plant leaves - what are bundle-sheath cells and mesophyll cells?  Where does the Calvin cycle occur?  What enzyme fixes CO₂ "first" by incorporating it into PEP to form oxaloacetate?  Compare the affinity of PEP carboxylase for CO₂ with the affinity of rubisco for CO₂ and explain why it is beneficial to have PEP carboxylase fix CO₂ on hot, dry days. How does the 4C malate get from the mesophyll cell to the bundle-sheath cell?  How does all of this minimize photorespiration?
24.  What are CAM plants?  Know some examples.  When do these plants open and close their stomata, and how does this compare to other plants?  How do these plants take up CO₂?  Where is the carbon dioxide stored - in what type of compound - and spatially?  How is CAM carbon fixation similar to that of C₄ plants?  How is it different?