What role do plant pigments play in the process of photosynthesis?

Answer 1

Pigments are able to absorb specific wavelengths of light which power photosynthesis. Chlorophyll, which is green, absorbs all wavelengths except green. Each photon excites an electron in the light harvesting complexes of a photosystem in a chlorophyll molecule, eventually producing ATPs. Other pigments will be a different color and will be able to absorb other wavelengths, maximizing energy absorbency when the sun's rays change.

Answer 2

Chlorophyll A is the only pigment that interacts with the rest of the light reaction proteins by transferring excited electrons to the primary electron acceptor. Chlorophyll B and carotenoids aid chlorophyll A in harnessing the light energy from the sun.

Answer 3

There is only one type of chloroplast, and it contains the chlorophyll which reflects green light.

There is, however, another type of plastid, called chromoplast. This type contains pigments other than chlorophyll, typically yellow or orange. It still does photosynthesis, although not as much as chloroplast.

Answer 4

Pigments are chemical compounds capable of absorbing certain wavelengths of light energy depending upon their color. A pigment will look the color of whatever wavelength it does NOT absorb, In photosynthesis there are two major classes of pigments 1) Chlorophyll-- which absorbs many light wavelenghts EXCEPT green- which comes in two forms, chlorophyll a which is possessed by most plants, algae and cyanobacteria and chlorophyll b found in both plants and green algae. 2) Carotenoids- pigments which look orange and brown and pass the energy on to chlorophyll for use in photosynthesis, hence their name of accessory pigments.

Answer 5

The other pigments capture light energy and transfer it to chlorophyll a at the reaction center. Carotenoids also protects system from UV light.

Answer 6

The main pigments involved in photosynthesis are chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and carotene. Each pigment allows for the absorption of lights of different wave lengths.