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First of all, chloroplasts are what convert the sun into ATP, which is the basic universal form of energy.Chloroplasts are able to capture solar energy to perform photosynthesis, the reduction of carbon dioxide to simple carbohydrates.They contain chlorophyll to allow photosynthesis to occur.Light absorbed by Chlorophyll excites the electrons. Different wavelengths of light excite the electrons by different amounts.

The energy in the 'excited electrons' can be passed from one chlorophyll molecule to another, but in the end it will just be lost as fluorescence (ie the energy will be re-emitted as light), unless the excited electron itself can be ejected from the chlorophyll molecule.This process of electron ejection takes place only in chlorophyll molecules which are specifically held in a special protein complex called a reaction centre.

There are two different sorts of reaction centres in plants. In each of these reaction centres, the ejected electron is transferred to an acceptor molecule, which can then pass it on to a different molecule and eventually the electron(s) can be used to fix carbon dioxide. However, you can't keep on ejecting electrons from these special chlorophyll molecules, electrons must be fed back in to replace those ejected. These electrons come from water, resulting in oxygen being evolved.

So, basically, solar energy excites electrons which bind molecules into useable substances. (ie ATP)

Hope this helped =)

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13y ago
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11y ago

This occurs by the plants changing colors because little elves sprinkle little colors on the leaves.

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14y ago

chloroplast

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Q: How chlorophyll traps sunlight and converts it to chemical energy?
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