EFFECT OF LIGHT

ON DEVELOPMENT
OF CHLOROPHYLL

-submitted to Ms. GAYATHRI M by:

ATHIRA CM
MANAL AMNA
ROWAN REJI-
XII-D

[1]
[2]
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Many  people assisted me in completing this project

successfully. I’d like to thank everyone involved with this
project.
First and foremost, I’d like to thank God for allowing me to
successfully complete this project. Then I’ll thank my school
Chairman Adv. Clemance Thottapily , Principal Mr Jose
Joseph Alumkal, Vice principle Mrs Liviya P.V and Co-
ordinator Mrs Leena Ittira, and biology teacher Ms Gayathri
M ,who taught me a lot about this project. Her suggestions and
directions aided in the completion of this project. During this
project, I learned a lot of useful skills, and I hope to put them to
good use in the future.

Finally, I’d like to thank my parents and friends for their

valuable suggestions and guidance throughout the project’s
various stages of completion.

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OBJECTIVE
To understand the effect of light on chlorophyll in the
development of green plants and In their pigmentation

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INTRODUCTION
Chlorophyll is found in virtually all photosynthetic organisms,
including green plants, cyanobacteria, and algae. It absorbs
energy from light; this energy is then used to convert carbon
dioxide to carbohydrates. Chlorophylls are ubiquitous pigments
in the plant kingdom that play a key role in photosynthesis, a
vital function for life on Earth.
Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms
to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through
cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's
activities.

There are five forms of chlorophylls found in

plants and photosynthetic organism, but in plant
This Photo by
Unknown Author is
kingdom only two major forms are commonly
licensed under found, that is,
CC BY
chlorophylls a and b.
The difference between these
chlorophylls is chemical compound
at position 7. Chlorophyll a is
composed of –CH3 while
chlorophyll b is composed of –CHO.
The difference in chemical
composition leads to the difference in colour;
chlorophyll a exhibit blue-green, while chlorophyll b appears
yellow-green colour. These two forms of chlorophyll coexist in
plants in an approximate ratio of 3:1 with chlorophyll a being
predominant.

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 THEORY

The chlorophyll molecule consists of a central magnesium atom

surrounded by a nitrogen-containing structure called
a porphyrin ring. Chlorophyll is remarkably similar in structure
to haemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying pigment found in the red
blood cells of mammals and other vertebrates. The chlorophyll
molecule consists of a central magnesium atom surrounded by
a nitrogen-containing structure called a porphyrin ring;
attached to the ring is a long carbon–hydrogen side chain,
known as a phytol chain.

Leafy vegetables that possess high amounts of chlorophylls

are spinach, lettuce, and broccoli, respectively.General
production process of commercial chlorophyll products by
solvent extraction is described in Humphrey's study.
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Chlorophyll degradation and colour change can easily occur
when chlorophylls are exposed to heat, light, oxygen, acids, and
enzymes. The loss of central magnesium atom in the
chlorophylls structure is the major cause of the structural
transformation from native chlorophyll to pheophytin, which
exhibits olive brown colour.

Chlorophyll occurs in several distinct forms:

chlorophylls a and b are the major types found in higher plants
and green algae; chlorophylls c and d are found, often with a, in
different algae; chlorophyll e is a rare type found in
some golden algae; and bacterio-chlorophyll occurs in certain
bacteria. In green plants chlorophyll occurs in membranous
disc-like units (thylakoids) in organelles called chloroplasts. In
plants, there are two specific forms of chlorophyll: chlorophyll
a and chlorophyll b. As seen in the graph below, chlorophyll a
absorbs dark blue wavelengths and dark red wavelengths.
wavelength .The large dip in the middle of the graph near the
green wavelengths is due to chlorophyll reflecting, instead of
absorbing, green light.

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Functions:

Plants use both forms of chlorophyll to collect the energy from

light. Chlorophyll is concentrated in the thylakoid membranes
of chloroplasts. Chloroplasts are the organelles in which
photosynthesis takes place. The thylakoids are small sacs of
membrane, stacked on top of each other. Embedded in these
membranes are a variety of proteins that surround chlorophyll.
These proteins work together to transfer the energy from light,
through chlorophyll, and into the bonds of ATP – the energy
transferring molecule of cells. ATP can then be used in the
Calvin cycle, or dark cycle, to create sugar

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Benefits of Chlorophyll

Because of chlorophyll, all life on Earth is possible. The first

benefit of chlorophyll is sugar, produced through the process of
ATP which is driven by chlorophyll. Plants, as primary
producers, produce the basis of the food chain. All other
organisms in the food chain rely on the sugars plants create to
sustain life. While the top predators in a food chain may never
eat a single plant, they most certainly eat herbivores.The
accumulation of these nutrients in nature would not be possible
without chlorophyll. The second benefit realized by all
organisms is oxygen. While chlorophyll does not produce
oxygen directly, chlorophyll and the complex of proteins it is
associated with transfer electrons to molecules like ATP and
NADPH, which can hold energy in bonds. The need for
electrons to drive this process causes water molecules to be
split, creating oxygen. This oxygen is released into the
atmosphere. Plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, produce all of the
oxygen in the atmosphere. All other animals, and most plants,
need this oxygen to survive.

EXPERIMENT :
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AIM:
:To check effect of light on development of chlorophyll
MATERIAL REQUIRED :
3 beakers, soil, test tube , gram seeds, water
PROCEDURE:

➼Take 3 beakers and put some amount of soil

➼ Add 3 – 4 gram seeds in each beakers and add more soil into
the beaker.

➼Add 10ml water into each beaker with the help of a testtube.

➼Name the beakers as A, B and C

➼Place the Beaker A to direct sunlight

➼Place the beaker B in a place out of direct sunlight

➼Place the Beaker C in a closed space with no sunlight at all

➼Observe the changes for 7 days

➼Then place Beaker A in a closed space and Beaker B AND c in

direct sunlight .

➼Observe the changes for few days

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OBSERVATIONS:
» It was seen that initially on the first day , all the beakers
started sprouting seeds .

» On the second day, Beaker B and C started sprouting more

and beaker A was barely sprouting .

» On the third day , all the beakers were readily sprouting and
growing, Beaker A was growing less compared to beaker B and
beaker B was growing less as compared to beaker B. Beaker B
was growing fastest.

» On The fourth day , similar observations was seen.

» On the fifth day it was observed that In beaker A the colour of

leaves of the plant was a prominent green, indicating presence
of chlorophyll, while beaker B had a lighter green shade .
Beaker C had no pigmentation In their leaves at all.

» The plants in the beakers continued to grow in the same

manner for the next day .

» On the seventh day , it was seen that beaker A had green

leaves and grew the least . while Beaker B was a bit taller with
light green leaves and beaker C grew the tallest with no colour
In their leaves.

Days
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 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Beaker
A Seeds Continuous Green Green leaves Consisten Green
Sprouting start growing stems seen t plant leaves
growing with the sprout height
same pace
B Sprouting More Seed Less Lighter green Plant Light
seed sprouts green leaves growth is green
growth faster than stem observed slow leaves
compare beaker A compare with
d to d to slightly
beaker A beaker A taller
stem
C Sprouting Most Seeds White The leaves Gradual Colourless
seed grow faster stems were plant leaves
growth and taller yellowish growth with very
tall stem

BEAKER A

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BEAKER B

BEAKER C

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 BBEAKERS ON DAY 7

‣ after this 7 days we changed the places of the beakers

‣ Beaker A was kept in dark,closed space

‣ Beaker B and Beaker C was kept in direct sunlight

‣ The changes was observed for 4 days

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 Beaker C on day 4 after keeping in direct sunlight

OBSERVATIONS
It was seen the Beaker C , which was initially kept in dark ,
which had colourless leaves have acquired the pigmentation
and leaves turned green.

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CONCLUSION
Green gram seeds were kept in beaker A, B and Beaker A was
kept in direct sunlight .Beaker B was kept out of direct sunlight
and C was kept in darkness. These beakers were observed for 7
days. In initial days all seeds were sprouting .Then in the rest of
days continuous growing with sprouting of stems and
appearance of leaves were observed. On the last day Green
leaves were spotted in beaker A while light green leaves with
slightly taller stem was observed in beaker B and colorless
leaves with very tall stem in Beaker Seeds kept in beaker under
direct sunlight had green leaves and green stems whereas the
seeds kept out of direct sunlight had less green stems and light
green leaves whereas seeds kept in darkness had white stems
and colorless leaves with no pigmentation.
Then with the second experiment , we saw how the leaves of
beaker C which was initially kept at dark, when kept In direct
sunlight, acquired colour after few days. This shows the role of
light for the presence of chlorophyll In green plants

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

https://open.lib.umn.edu/horticulture/chapter/2-2-introduction-to-
seed-germination/

https://biologydictionary.net/chlorophyll/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ernst-Felix-Immanuel-Hoppe-
Seyler

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