Download Passport activity questions

The Sun
Use your notes to answer the following questions in your passport.
1. Energy from the sun travels to the
earth in the form of _______.
2. Plants capture ______ energy from
the sun, and convert it into food
(glucose).
3. Write the chemical equation for the
process of photosynthesis, and don’t
forget about sunlight!
Plants
Read the passage below, and answer the questions in your passport.
Plants get carbon dioxide from the air
around them. This is the by-product of
air that people and animals create when
they exhale. Plants absorb carbon
dioxide through their leaves to begin the
process of creating food. Plants absorb
water and the nutrients from the water
via their roots systems. These nutrients,
and the water itself, travel up the stem
and throughout the plant to reach the
leaves where photosynthesis will occur.
E
A
B
C
4. Label parts A-E on the plant diagram in you passport.
5. Circle the plant structure where photosynthesis occurs.
6. Put a star next to the structure where plants take in carbon
dioxide (CO2).
7. Place a box around the structure where plants absorb water.
D
Photosynthesis Overview
Read the passage below and answer the questions in your passport.
As you may know, a power plant is a place where
one form of energy is converted to another more
usable form. Think about your appliances at
home. They run on electricity; but they would not
work so well if we tried to plug them into a piece
of coal! Therefore, power plants such as MG&E
convert coal into electricity—the usable form of
energy for our homes. Solar panels also convert
energy into a usable form. They take the sun’s
energy and convert it into electricity.
During the process of photosynthesis, plants act as mini solar power
plants. They use light energy to convert low energy substances like CO2
and H2O, into high-energy substances like C6H12O6. They do this in three
main steps:
• Capturing light energy
• Converting light energy into chemical energy (Light
Dependent Reaction)
• Using chemical energy to make food (Light
Independent Reaction)
8. What analogy is made about cells? Cells are like
____________________.
9. Cells use ___________ to convert _______ and _______ into
_____________.
10. What are the three main steps in the process of photosynthesis?
Capturing Light Energy
Read the passage below and answer the questions in your passport.
The capturing of light energy occurs in a special
structure in the leaf called the chloroplast (Greek for
“green shape”). The chloroplast is where photosynthesis
takes place—the mini solar power plant in the leaf.
There are anywhere from 20-100 chloroplasts in each
leaf cell. Chloroplasts are so small, that if 100 of them
were lined up end to end, they would be no bigger than
the period at the end of this sentence.
PLANT CELL
Each chloroplast contains an important pigment called
chlorophyll. As you read earlier, a pigment is a
substance that absorbs or reflects light. Different
pigments absorb and reflect different wavelengths of
light. The wavelengths that the pigment transmits
(reflects) determines what color you see. Chlorophyll
absorbs mostly red and blue wavelengths and transmits
(reflects) green wavelengths. This is why a plant
appears green. As you know, plants contain many other
pigments as well, but they are usually not seen because
there is so much chlorophyll present that it masks the
other colors.
11. Where does the process of photosynthesis occur? ________.
12. A _______ is a substance that absorbs and transmits light. The name of
the one that is most commonly found in plants is _______.
13. Carotene is a pigment found in some plants. It
transmits wavelengths of orange light. What
color/colors of light are absorbed by this pigment?
Use the color wheel to the right to answer this
question.
Light Dependent Reaction
Read the passage below and answer the questions in your passport.
The word “energy” comes up several times when we talk about
photosynthesis. For those of you who have traveled to a country
outside of the USA, one of the first things you did was to exchange
your American dollars for the type of money used in that country. It
would have been difficult to buy anything in a foreign country using
American dollars because they just are not accepted. Our cells are
the same way-they only use energy in specific forms. Therefore, any
other energy coming into the cell must be “exchanged” into the one
usable form.
What is this usable form of energy? As you may remember, C.B Van
Niel discovered that light energy from the sun was used to split H2O
into Hydrogen and Oxygen. Oxygen is given off into the air by the
plant. Hydrogen is used to help produce a chemical form of energy,
called ATP (adenosine tri-phosphate). Some of the hydrogen is used
in a later reaction. ATP is then used in the next stage of the process
of photosynthesis: the Light Independent Reaction.
Draw a picture in your passport that creates a visual story of what
happens during the light dependent reaction.
Be sure to use the following words on/in your
diagram:
• Sunlight
• H2O (water)
• H2 (hydrogen)
• O2 (oxygen)
• Split -or- Splits -or- Splitting
• ATP
Be sure to include the following structures:
• Chloroplast
• Sun
Light Independent Reaction
Read the passage below and answer the questions in your passport.
The light independent reactions are part of a continuous cycle where
glucose C6H12O6 is made from CO2 and hydrogen (H2). This reaction
requires a constant input of chemical energy to keep it going.
Chemical energy (ATP) from the light dependent reactions is the
energy used to run these reactions. Essentially, ATP from the light
dependent reaction is used to combine CO2 with hydrogen (H2), which
results in the final product, C6H12O6 (glucose)!
14. What two things combine to
make glucose?
15. Where does the hydrogen come
from? (If you're not sure, check
your "History of Photosynthesis"
reading).
16. What is needed to power the
Light Independent reaction, and
where does it come from?
Light Independent Reaction
Cell Structure
We have spent a great deal of time discussing the process of
photosynthesis. We have also talked about the parts of a plant cell,
specifically the chloroplast. Now, it's your turn to look at the cells of a
plant up close and personal. Look into the microscope to view the
cells of an Elodea plant.
You will see MANY cells in the microscope. Look at the cells within
the field of view, and choose ONE cell to draw. In your drawing, label
the following structures:
• Chloroplast(s)
• Cell Wall
Microscope
field of view…
MANY CELLS!
Draw ONE plant
cell in the circle in
your passport.