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Photosynthesis: Light-Dependent Reactions and Photosystems Study Guide

This guide delves into the critical light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis. It covers the essential components like photosystems (PSII and PSI), their reaction centers (P680 and P700), and the role of pigments such as chlorophyll and carotenoids in absorbing light energy. The guide explains the process of photolysis, where water is split to release oxygen, protons, and electrons. It details the electron transport chain's function in generating a proton gradient across the thylakoid membrane

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The Process and Factors of Photosynthesis

The Process and Mechanisms of Photosynthesis

This topic covers the transformation of light energy into chemical energy through the conversion of carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen.

  • Photosynthesis
  • Light-dependent reactions
  • Light-independent reactions
  • Photosynthetic pigments
  • Chlorophylls
  • Carotenoids
  • Absorption spectra
  • Action spectra
  • Limiting factors
  • Light intensity
  • Carbon dioxide concentration
  • Temperature

Cell Respiration and ATP Functionality

Adenosine Triphosphate and Cell Respiration

  • Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) structure
  • ATP hydrolysis
  • ATP synthesis
  • Universal energy currency
  • Energy transfer in cell respiration
  • Role of ATPase
  • Interconversion between ATP and ADP
  • Anabolic reactions
  • Active transport

Cell Respiration and ATP Production

Cell respiration is a series of chemical reactions that produces ATP through the controlled release of energy from organic compounds.

  • Cell respiration
  • ATP production
  • Aerobic respiration
  • Anaerobic respiration
  • Glucose oxidation
  • Respiratory substrates
  • Mitochondria
  • Cytoplasm
  • Lactate production
  • Energy yield

Metabolism: Enzymes and Reactions

Enzymes and Metabolism in Cells

Enzymes are proteins that act as biological catalysts to increase reaction rates in cells and control metabolism.

  • Metabolism
  • Enzymes as biological catalysts
  • Substrate molecules
  • Active site
  • Enzyme-substrate specificity
  • Metabolic pathways
  • Anabolic reactions
  • Catabolic reactions
  • Globular proteins

Anabolic and Catabolic Reactions

Anabolic reactions build large molecules from smaller ones using condensation reactions, while catabolic reactions break down large molecules into smaller ones through hydrolysis reactions.

  • Anabolic reactions
  • Catabolic reactions
  • Condensation reactions
  • Hydrolysis reactions
  • Endergonic reactions
  • Exergonic reactions
  • Photosynthesis
  • Protein synthesis
  • Glycogen formation
  • Respiration
  • Deamination
  • Digestion
  • ATP

Cell Signalling and Signal Transduction

Chemical Signalling and Receptor Activation

Transmembrane receptor proteins such as GPCRs and RTKs initiate signal transduction pathways through ligand binding and intracellular protein activation.

  • G-protein-coupled-receptor (GPCR)
  • G-protein activation
  • GTP and GDP
  • Signal transduction
  • Insulin action
  • Glucose transporter proteins
  • Epinephrine receptors
  • Second messenger model
  • Cyclic AMP (cAMP)
  • Glycogenolysis

Populations, Communities, and Population Growth

Limiting Population Size and Carrying Capacity

The maximum number of individuals of a species that an ecosystem can support is known as its carrying capacity.

  • Carrying capacity
  • Abiotic factors
  • Biotic factors
  • Population density
  • Density-dependent factors
  • Density-independent factors
  • Negative feedback
  • Positive feedback

Populations and Communities Control Factors

Populations in a community are limited by predator-prey relationships, top-down and bottom-up control factors, and interspecific competition.

  • Predator-prey relationships
  • Predator-prey cycles
  • Top-down control
  • Bottom-up control
  • Interspecific competition
  • Allelopathy
  • Secondary metabolites
  • Antibiotic secretion

Population Growth Curves and Modeling

This content explores population growth curves, including sigmoid growth patterns, allelopathy, and methods for modelling population size using yeast or duckweed.

  • allelopathy
  • antibiotic secretion
  • population growth curves
  • sigmoid growth curve
  • exponential phase
  • transition phase
  • plateau phase
  • carrying capacity
  • logarithmic scale
  • turbidity
  • duckweed modelling

Populations and Community Interspecific Relationships

Populations and communities involve intraspecific relationships such as cooperation and competition, as well as interspecific interactions between multiple populations of different species.

  • Intraspecific relationships
  • Intraspecific cooperation
  • Intraspecific competition
  • Community
  • Ecosystem
  • Levels of organisation

Interspecific Relationships within Communities

Interspecific relationships are the interactions between different species that occur within a community.

  • Herbivory
  • Predation
  • Interspecific competition
  • Mutualism
  • Parasitism
  • Pathogenicity
  • Nitrogen fixation
  • Mycorrhizae
  • Symbiotic relationships

Pathogens and the Human Immune System

Defence Against Disease and Immune Responses

The sources explain the mechanisms of the innate and adaptive immune systems, including blood clotting, white blood cell functions, and the progression of HIV and AIDS.

  • Ciliated epithelium
  • Blood clotting process
  • Platelets
  • Fibrinogen
  • Innate immune system
  • Adaptive immune system
  • Antigens
  • Phagocytes
  • Phagocytosis
  • Lymphocytes
  • T cells
  • B cells
  • Antibodies
  • Plasma cells
  • Memory cells
  • Immunological memory
  • Clonal expansion
  • Primary immune response

Transfer of Energy and Matter in Ecosystems

Autotrophs, Heterotrophs, and Carbon Compounds

Organisms gain energy through autotrophy or heterotrophy to produce ATP and carbon compounds for respiration.

  • Autotrophy
  • Heterotrophy
  • Photoautotrophs
  • Chemoautotrophs
  • ATP synthesis
  • Oxidation reactions
  • Respiration
  • Carbon compounds
  • Anabolic reactions
  • Photolysis
  • Metabolism
  • Digestion
  • Assimilation

Primary and Secondary Production Processes

Primary production involves the accumulation of carbon compounds in autotrophs through photosynthesis, while secondary production is the accumulation of biomass in heterotrophs through the ingestion of other organisms.

  • Primary production
  • Secondary production
  • Autotrophs
  • Heterotrophs
  • Biomass accumulation
  • Photosynthesis
  • Energy loss through respiration
  • Metabolic waste excretion
  • Trophic levels
  • Rate of production measurement

Photosystems and Light Dependent Reactions

Photosystems and Light Dependent Reactions

Photosystems containing chlorophyll and accessory pigments facilitate light dependent reactions including photolysis, chemiosmosis, and the reduction of NADP within the thylakoid membranes.

  • Photosystems
  • Photosystem I (P700)
  • Photosystem II (P680)
  • Chlorophyll and accessory pigments
  • Light dependent reactions
  • Photolysis
  • Chemiosmosis
  • Reduction of NADP
  • Electron transport chain
  • Thylakoid membrane
  • ATP synthesis
  • Reaction centre

Enzyme Structure, Action, and Catalysis

Enzyme Structure and Catalysis Mechanisms

Enzyme catalysis involves molecular motion, substrate-active site collisions, and the formation of an enzyme-substrate complex through the induced-fit hypothesis.

  • Enzyme structure
  • Enzyme catalysis
  • Substrate-active site collisions
  • Enzyme-substrate complex
  • Enzyme specificity
  • Lock-and-key model
  • Induced-fit hypothesis
  • Conformational changes
  • Kinetic energy
  • Immobilised enzymes

Enzyme Activity and Denaturation

This content explores how temperature, pH, and substrate concentration affect the rate of enzyme-catalysed reactions and the process of denaturation.

  • immobilised enzymes
  • denaturation
  • active site
  • enzyme-substrate complex
  • catalase activity
  • amylase activity
  • substrate concentration
  • optimum temperature
  • optimum pH
  • kinetic energy
  • successful collisions
  • active site saturation
  • colorimetry

Enzyme Reaction Rates and Activation Energy

Enzyme catalysed reactions are affected by changes in pH, temperature or substrate concentration and involve the lowering of activation energy.

  • Enzyme reaction rates
  • Substrate concentration
  • Initial rate of reaction
  • Gradient of a tangent
  • Biological catalysts
  • Enzyme-substrate complex
  • Active site
  • Transitional state
  • Activation energy
  • Exergonic reaction
  • Endergonic reaction

Nerve Impulses and Synaptic Transmission

Neural Signalling and Synaptic Transmission

This content explores the mechanisms of action potentials, synaptic transmission involving neurotransmitters like acetylcholine, and the propagation of nerve impulses through saltatory conduction.

  • saltatory conduction
  • correlation coefficient
  • synapse
  • synaptic cleft
  • neurotransmitters
  • acetylcholine
  • acetylcholinesterase
  • action potential
  • depolarisation
  • repolarisation
  • hyperpolarisation
  • refractory period
  • threshold potential
  • all-or-nothing principle
  • local currents
  • oscilloscope traces
  • nodes of Ranvier

Photophosphorylation, Chemiosmosis, and the Calvin Cycle

Photophosphorylation and Light-Independent Reactions

The processes of cyclic and non-cyclic photophosphorylation, chemiosmosis, and the Calvin cycle facilitate the synthesis of ATP, reduced NADP, and carbohydrates during photosynthesis.

  • Cyclic photophosphorylation
  • Non-cyclic photophosphorylation
  • Chemiosmosis
  • Photosystem I
  • Photosystem II
  • Electron transport chain
  • Photolysis of water
  • Reduction of NADP
  • Carbon fixation
  • Glycerate 3-phosphate
  • Triose phosphate
  • Ribulose bisphosphate
  • Interdependence of photosynthetic reactions

Metabolic Pathways and Enzyme Inhibition

Enzymes, Metabolism, and Enzyme Inhibition

This topic explores how enzymes catalyse metabolic pathways through exergonic and endergonic reactions and how their activity is regulated by competitive, non-competitive, and mechanism-based inhibition.

  • Activation energy
  • Exergonic reactions
  • Endergonic reactions
  • Intracellular and extracellular enzymes
  • Metabolic pathways
  • Linear and cyclical metabolic pathways
  • Competitive inhibition
  • Non-competitive inhibition
  • Allosteric sites
  • End-product inhibition
  • Mechanism-based inhibition
  • Substrate analogues

Cellular Respiration and Redox Reactions

Anaerobic Cell Respiration Pathways

Cells produce ATP through anaerobic respiration pathways such as lactate production and alcoholic fermentation in yeast.

  • Anaerobic respiration
  • Lactate production
  • Lactate fermentation
  • Alcoholic fermentation
  • Glycolysis
  • Lactate dehydrogenase
  • Alcohol dehydrogenase
  • Oxygen debt
  • Carbon dioxide production
  • Pyruvate reduction

The Link Reaction and Krebs Cycle

The link reaction and Krebs cycle involve oxidative decarboxylation and redox reactions in the mitochondrial matrix to produce acetyl CoA, carbon dioxide, ATP, and reduced NAD and FAD.

  • Link reaction
  • Krebs cycle
  • Mitochondrial matrix
  • Pyruvate
  • Acetyl CoA
  • Oxidative decarboxylation
  • Oxaloacetate
  • Citrate
  • Reduction of NAD and FAD
  • Substrate-level phosphorylation
  • Aerobic respiration

Oxidative Phosphorylation and Respiratory Substrates

The electron transport chain and chemiosmosis use a proton gradient to power ATP synthesis during oxidative phosphorylation.

  • Oxidative phosphorylation
  • Electron transport chain
  • Chemiosmosis
  • ATP synthase
  • Proton gradient
  • Final electron acceptor
  • Reduced NAD and reduced FAD
  • Metabolic water
  • Respiratory substrates
  • Lipids and carbohydrates

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