Photosynthesis revision notes

Process of making food(Glucose/sugar/Starch) using carbondioxide and

water releasing oxygen as a by product
Reactants(Chemicals needed for photosynthesis)
• water
• light (a source of energy)
Products( Chemicals produced by plants)
glucose
• oxygen
• Glucose/starch/sugar

carbon dioxide + water → glucose + oxygen

1. Photosynthesis takes place inside plant cells in small objects

called chloroplasts.
2. Chloroplasts contain a green substance called chlorophyll.
3. This absorbs the light energy needed to make photosynthesis
happen.
4. Plants and algae can only carry out photosynthesis in the light.

Adaptations of the leaf

The leaf is a plant organ adapted to carry out photosynthesis. The
table describes some of its adaptations:
Adaptation Function
Provides a short distance for carbon dioxide to
Thin
move by diffusion into the leaf
Contains chlorophyll Absorbs light
Allows carbon dioxide to move by diffusion into the
Stomata
leaf
To open and close the stomata depending on the
Guard cells
conditions
Network of tubes (xylem
To transport water (xylem) and food (phloem)
and phloem)
Light
The upper part of the leaf is where the light falls, and it contains a
type of cell called a palisade cell. This is adapted to absorb a lot of
light. It has lots of chloroplasts and is shaped like a tall box.

A cross-section through a leaf showing its main parts

Carbon dioxide
Plants get the carbon dioxide they need from the air through their
leaves. It moves by diffusion through small holes in the underside
of the leaf called stomata. Guard cells control the size of the
stomata so that the leaf does not lose too much water in hot, windy
or dry conditions.
Water
The water needed for photosynthesis is absorbed through the roots
and transported through tubes to the leaf.
The roots have a type of cell called a root hair cell.

Water is absorbed from the soil by root hair cells

Investigating the rate of photosynthesis
This is an example of a common experiment used to investigate
light intensity and the rate of photosynthesis. This should help you
understand how to work scientifically.
Aim of the experiment
To use pondweed to see how light intensity affects the rate of
photosynthesis.
Method
• Set up the apparatus as in the diagram.
• Leave for five minutes for the pondweed to acclimatise to the
new light intensity.
• Count the number of bubbles given off in one minute.
• Move the light 10 cm further back.
• Leave for five minutes for the pondweed to acclimatise again.
• Count the number of bubbles given off in one minute.
• Repeat by moving the lamp away by 10 cm intervals until 50
cm is reached.
A light intensity experiment
Variables
• Independent variable - the light intensity (how close the
light is).
• Dependant variable - the number of oxygen bubbles
given off (the rate of photosynthesis).
• Controlled variables - the size of the pondweed, the
volume of water used and its temperature.
Risks
Care must be taken with glassware.
Expected results
Distance from lamp to beaker Number of bubbles given off per
(cm) minute
10 15
20 7
30 3
40 1
50 0
What the results mean
More oxygen bubbles are produced when the light is closer to the
beaker. So a greater light intensity gives a greater rate of
photosynthesis.
Evaluation
• Your measurements are accurate if they are close to
their true value.
• Your measurements are precise if they are similar when
completed again.
• Your experiment is repeatable if you get precise
measurements when it is repeated.
• Your experiment is reproducible if others get precise
measurements when they repeat it.
What are the products of photosynthesis?

Carbon dioxide and water

Glucose and oxygen

Lactic acid

2
What colour is chlorophyll?

Black

Blue

Green

3
Where does photosynthesis take place?

In the chloroplasts

In the cell wall

In the nucleus

4
What are the reactants of photosynthesis?

Carbon dioxide and water

Carbon dioxide and oxygen

Glucose and oxygen

 5
When do plants respire?

During the day only

During the day and night

During the night only

6
When do plants photosynthesise?

During the day and night

During the night only

During the day only

7
What are the cells near the top of leaves called?

Palisade cells

Root hair cells

Red blood cells

8
What does xylem carry?

Water

Blood

Carbohydrates
 9
What do stomata do?

Stop carbon dioxide diffusing into leaves

Allow oxygen to diffuse into leaves

Allow carbon dioxide to diffuse into leaves

10
How are root hair cells adapted?

Huge surface area

Lots of chloroplasts

Have no cell wall

Diet and Digestion
Nutrients
A nutrient is a substance needed by organisms to stay alive and
healthy. A healthy human diet involves seven different kinds of
nutrient:
• carbohydrates
• proteins
• lipids(fats and oils)
• minerals(Iron and Calcium)
• vitamins (C,D)
• dietary fibre
• water
Some foods are particularly rich in certain nutrients. The table
shows why we need each nutrient, and some good sources of each
one:
Nutrient Use in the body Good sources
Carbohyd Cereals, bread, pasta,
To provide energy
rate rice and potatoes
Fish, meat, eggs,
Protein For growth and repair beans, pulses and
dairy products
Lipids To provide energy. Also to store energy
(fats and in the body and insulate it against the Butter, oil and nuts
oils) cold.
Needed in small amounts to maintain Salt, milk (for calcium)
Minerals
health and liver (for iron)
Needed in small amounts to maintain Fruit, vegetables, dairy
Vitamins
health foods
Dietary To provide roughage to help to keep
Vegetables, bran
fibre the food moving through the gut
Water Needed for cells and body fluids Water, fruit juice, milk
Effects of a poor diet
A balanced diet is one that contains the correct amounts of all the
necessary nutrients needed for healthy growth and activity.Mineral
deficiencies

• iron deficiency can cause anaemia, where there are too few
red blood cells
Vitamin deficiencies

• vitamin A deficiency can cause blindness

• vitamin C deficiency causes scurvy, which makes the gums
bleed
• vitamin D deficiency causes rickets, which makes the legs bow
outwards in growing children
Digestion
Process of breaking large food indiffusible molecules into smaller
diffusible form.
Without digestion, Food molecules will be large enough to pass
through tiny pores in the cell.
Digestion happens in the digestive system, which begins at the
mouth and ends at the anus.

Parts of the digestive system

After we swallow, our food passes through these organs in turn:
• oesophagus or gullet
• stomach
• small intestine
• large intestine
Stages of digestion
Different things happen to food as it passes through the digestive
system:
• Food is digested(Starch) in the mouth( By amylase),
stomach(Pepsin only protein) and small intestine(completing
digestion and absorption)
• Digested food is absorbed into the bloodstream in the
small intestine (Large surface area,thin walls and richly
supplied with blood capillaries)
• Excess water is absorbed back into the body in the large
intestine
• Any undigested food passes out of the anus as faeces
when we go to the toilet
Liver and pancreas
1. The liver produces bile, which helps the digestion of lipids (fats
and oil).
2. The pancreas produces biological catalysts called digestive
enzymes which speed up the digestive reactions.
Enzymes
Proteins that can break large molecules into small molecules.
Different types of enzymes can break down different nutrients:
• amylase and other carbohydrase enzymes break down
starch into sugar
• protease enzymes break down proteins into amino
acids
• lipase enzymes break down lipids (fats and oils) into
fatty acids and glycerol
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are digested in the mouth, stomach and small
intestine. Carbohydrase enzymes break down starch into sugars.
The saliva in your mouth contains amylase, which is another starch
digesting enzyme. If you chew a piece of bread for long enough, the
starch it contains is digested to sugar, and it begins to taste sweet.

Starch is digested to sugars

Proteins
Proteins are digested in the stomach and small intestine.
Protease enzymes break down proteins into amino acids. Digestion
of proteins in the stomach is helped by stomach acid, which is
strong hydrochloric acid. This also kills harmful microorganisms
that may be in the food.
Proteins are digested to amino acids
Lipids (fats and oils)
Lipase enzymes break down fat into fatty acids and glycerol.
Digestion of fat in the small intestine is helped by bile, made in the
liver. Bile breaks the fat into small droplets that are easier for the
lipase enzymes to work on. Bile is not an enzyme.

Lipids are digested to fatty acids and glycerol

Substances that are not digested
Minerals, vitamins and water are already small enough to be
absorbed by the body without being broken down, so they are not
digested.
Absorption

These are the processes that happen in the digestive system:

ingestion (eating) → digestion (breaking down) → absorption →
egestion (removal from the body)
Absorption
Only small, soluble substances can pass across the wall of the
small intestine. Large insoluble substances cannot pass through.
The slideshow shows how this happens:

Food molecules in the small intestine are too large to pass across
its wall and into the bloodstream
Adaptations for absorption
Absorption across a surface happens quickly and efficiently if:
• the surface is thin
• its area is large
The inner wall of the small intestine has adaptation so that
substances pass across it quickly and efficiently:
• it has a thin wall, just one cell thick
• it has many tiny villi to give a really big surface area
If the small intestine had a thick wall and a small surface area, a lot
of digested food might pass out of the body before it had a chance
to be absorbed.
The villi (one of them is called a villus) stick out and give a big
surface area. They also contain blood capillaries to carry away the
absorbed food molecules.

The structure of villi

Which nutrients do not need to be digested?

Protein, minerals and vitamins

Minerals, vitamins and water

Fat, minerals and vitamins

2
What organ follows the stomach in the digestive system?

Large intestine

Oesophagus

Small intestine

3
What is mainly absorbed in the large intestine?

Water

Digested food

Fibre

4
Where is most digested food absorbed?

In the stomach

In the small intestine

In the gullet
 5
What is produced when proteins are digested?

Sugars

Fatty acids and glycerol

Amino acids

6
What does lipase digest?

Carbohydrates

Proteins

Fats

7
Where does digestion start?

Mouth

Stomach

Small intestine

8
Where is bile produced?

Anus

Liver

Stomach
 9
What gives the small intestine a large surface area?

Rich blood supply

Thin walls

Villi

10
When faeces are passed out of the body, this is called:

Ingestion

Egestion

Indigestion

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