Video Transcript
Chlorophyll is required by the
chloroplasts of leaves to capture light. For what process do the
chloroplasts require this light energy?
You may remember that chlorophyll
is the green pigment found within the thylakoid membrane of chloroplasts. A pigment is a molecule that
absorbs specific wavelengths of light and reflects other wavelengths. In the case of chlorophyll, blue
and red wavelengths of light are absorbed more efficiently than green wavelengths of
light. Inside the chloroplasts, this
absorbed light energy is used to break apart water molecules, releasing protons and
electrons that are used to create chemical energy. The chemical energy is then used to
fix the carbon from carbon dioxide into glucose and to release oxygen as a
product. The name for this process is
photosynthesis, and it’s how plants make their own nutrition to survive and
grow.
Therefore, the name of the process
that chloroplasts require to capture light energy is photosynthesis.
