Photosynthesis
Chlorophyll & chloroplasts
Gas exchange
Limiting factors
Water & Minerals
100

What are the reactants in photosynthesis?

Carbon dioxide & water

100

Where is chlorophyll found in plants?

Chloroplasts

100

What cells allow gas exchange to happen in the leaf?

Stomata & guard cells

100

What are some factors that affect the rate of photosynthesis?

Water, light, carbon dioxide concentration, mineral availability, temperature

100

Other than being a reactant of photosynthesis, why do plants need water?

Keeps cells firm to support the stems and leaves

200

What are the products in photosynthesis?

Glucose & oxygen

200

Which plant structures contain the most chloroplasts? Why?

Leaves bc that’s where most of the sunlight is

200

What’s the function of the cuticle?

Protects against water loss, stops gas exchange from happening everywhere

200

How can you measure the rate of photosynthesis?

Water plants – release oxygen just like land plants but bc they’re underwater you can see the gas bubbles

200

What are some adaptations of plants that allow them to survive in places with little water?

Deep or wide spreading roots, thick protective outer layers to prevent water loss, store water in their tissues

300

Why do plants need to photosynthesize?

To make food

300

Is photosynthesis exothermic or endothermic? Why?

Endothermic bc consumes more energy that it produces

300

What’s the difference between xylem and phloem?

Xylem = water & other nutrients

Phloem = food & other organic materials

300

Describe the graph that explains how temperature affects the rate of photosynthesis



300

What happens when a plant gets too much water?

Roots die and rot => whole plant dies

400

Why do humans need plants?

Food, clothes, building materials, oxygen, air filtration, paper, medicine, etc etc etc

400

Name some other substances chloroplasts contain

ll the enzymes needed to join carbon dioxide and water together to make oxygen

400

Why is gas exchange important in the leaf?

Need to allow CO2 to enter the leaf for photosynthesis and waste (oxygen) to leave

400

How can you increase the rate of photosynthesis?

greenhouses (more light, warmer (if not too warm))

400

What are the essential minerals plants need?

NPK – nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium

500

Some people claim that talking to houseplants makes them grow better. What’s a possible scientific explanation for why this might be true?

We exhale carbon dioxide which plants use to photosynthesize

*remember, CO2 is almost always the limiting factor!!

500

Why is chlorophyll green?

Many potential reasons – but basically bc evolution decided that green worked the best for absorbing sunlight

500

In what ways are leaves well adapted for photosynthesis?

- Air spaces in spongy layer allow gases to diffuse easily

- Often large and flat to incr surface area of sunlight absorption

500

Which would have the fastest rate of photosynthesis: 

  1. Middle of a sunny day in July

  2. Cloudy day in August

  3. Early morning in late September

Middle of a sunny day in July – nice and hot, lots of light


Cloudy day: light = limiting factor


Late September: temperature = limiting factor

500

Why do farmers use fertilizers?

Give plants minerals that have been leeched out by over-farming the soil

Makes plants grow as well as possible

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