CRUISE SCHOOL

BIOLOGY ASSIGNMENT NO 3

PREPARED BY: AMANUEL FIKRE ABEGAZ

GRADE AND SECTION: 11F

1. What condition must exist in a cell for the cell to engage in fermentation?

 There must be no oxygen because fermentation is anaerobic.

2. How is the synthesis of ATP in the electron transport chain of mitochondria similar to
the synthesis of ATP in chloroplasts?

 It is because they both produce ATP using the ATP synthase and NADPH.

3. How dose does the folding of the inner mitochondrial membrane benefit aerobic
respiration?

 It increases the surface area inside the organelle therefore giving more space for the
occurrence of respiration by allowing more molecules to be transferred across the
membrane folds.

4. Explain how the light reactions would be affected if there were no concentration gradient
of protons across the thylakoid membrane.

 The protons wouldn’t move because there is no concentration gradient therefore there
won’t be any spinning of the rotor which means that there will be no ATP.

5. Explain the major difference between the three pathways of light independent reaction
of photosynthesis.

 Fixation
In the stroma, in addition to CO2, two other components are present to initiate the light-
independent reactions: an enzyme called ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase (RuBisCO),
and three molecules of ribulose bisphosphate (RuBP), as shown in Figure 2. RuBP has
five atoms of carbon, flanked by two phosphates.
 Reduction
ATP and NADPH are used to convert the six molecules of 3-PGA into six molecules of a
chemical called glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (G3P). That is a reduction reaction because
it involves the gain of electrons by 3-PGA. Recall that a reduction is the gain of an
electron by an atom or molecule. Six molecules of both ATP and NADPH are used. For
ATP, energy is released with the loss of the terminal phosphate atom, converting it into
 ADP; for NADPH, both energy and a hydrogen atom are lost, converting it into NADP+.
Both of these molecules return to the nearby light-dependent reactions to be reused and
reenergized.
 Regeneration
Interestingly, at this point, only one of the G3P molecules leaves the Calvin cycle and is
sent to the cytoplasm to contribute to the formation of other compounds needed by the
plant. Because the G3P exported from the chloroplast has three carbon atoms, it takes
three “turns” of the Calvin cycle to fix enough net carbon to export one G3P. But each
turn makes two G3Ps, thus three turns make six G3Ps. One is exported while the
remaining five G3P molecules remain in the cycle and are used to regenerate RuBP,
which enables the system to prepare for more CO2 to be fixed. Three more molecules of
ATP are used in these regeneration reactions.

6. What is the difference between the role of photosystem I and photosystem II in

photosynthesis?

Photosystem I Photosystem II
 The role of Photosystem I is to is in  The role of Photosystem II is in
NADPH synthesis. hydrolysis of water and ATP synthesis.

7. Make a chart compare the leaf adaptation of C3 plants with C4 plant?

C4 C3
 Abundant in tropic conditions.  Abundant in temperate regions.
 Bundle sheath cells contain chloroplast.  Bundle sheath cells don’t contain
chloroplasts.
 CO2 fixation occurs only at one place  CO2 fixation occurs at two
places(mesophyll & second bundle
sheath cells)
 Uses the calvin cycle for the dark  Uses C4 cycle for the dark reaction of
reaction of photosynthesis. photosynthesis.
8. All of the major components of the light reactions, including the pigment molecules
clustered photosystem I and II are located in the thylakoid membrane. What is the
advantage of having these components confined to the same membrane rather than
dissolved in the in stroma or the cytosol?

 The advantage is that those different components and pigment molecules in the antenna
complex can absorb deferent wavelengths of light, making the whole system more
efficient.

9. Cactuses and other CAM plants are very efficient at carrying out photosynthesis while
conserving water. Why aren’t they more common in environment where water is plentiful?

 Because they are suited to live in harsh conditions like a desert.

10. When the CO2 concentration in the cell of a C3 plant is low compared with the O2
concentration, an enzyme combines RuBP with the O2 rather than CO2. What effect would
this enzymatic change have on photosynthesis?

 It leads to the loss of already fixed carbon as CO2