Photosynthesis

Don’t let the details overwhelm you; you need to learn less than you might think

Isobel Beasley

Last updated on Oct 20, 2024 High school, VCE, Biology, Unit 3, Area of study 3

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson you should be able to:

List the main inputs and outputs for the light dependent and light independent stages of photosynthesis
Explain how evidence (including chromosomal structure, double membrane, ribosome type) supports the bacterial origins of chloroplasts
(Bonus Easy) Agree it’s ridiculous that life exists given the complexity of reactions it needs
(Bonus Challenge) Explain how different factors (temperature, light, glucose availability, carbon dioxide and oxygen concentration) impact the rate of cellular respiration

VCAA emphasises that “details of the biochemical pathway mechanisms are not required”

What this means that what you really need to know is: WHERE, WHAT GOES IN, and WHAT COMES OUT. Sooooo … let’s just focus on these aspects.

Word equation: $$ \text{Carbon Dixode} + \text{Water} \text{ } \xrightarrow{\text{light}} \text{ } \text{Oxygen} + \text{Glucose} $$

Chemical equation:

$$ 6CO_{2} + 6H_{2}O \text{ } \xrightarrow{\text{light}} \text{ } 6O_{2} + C_{6}H_{12}O_{6} + 36ATP $$

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Stage	Where	Net inputs	Net outputs
Light dependent	Grana / Thylakoid (Chloroplast)	Water NADPH ADP + Pi Light	ATP NADPH Oxygen
Light independent	Stroma (Chloroplast)	Carbon Dioxide NADPH ATP	ADP + Pi NADP Glucose

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