Sunflower Photosynthesis Lab Report

Introduction: Sunflowers are classified under Kingdom Plantae. Sunflowers are unicellular eukaryotes that are autotrophic. This means that they have specialized cells, with a membrane bound nucleus and membrane bound organelles.The term autotrophic means that the plants have the ability to produce their own energy.The process that plants use is called photosynthesis. There are two types of photosynthesis, oxygenic photosynthesis and anoxygenic photosynthesis.

The sunflower is native to America.They were domesticated around 1100 B.C. The Native Americans used the sunflower as a source of color and food. They ate the seeds like we do today.The sunflower was very beneficial to the Native tribes long ago.

The most common type of photosynthesis

During this process energy from the sun is absorbed by the chlorophyll and store as chemical energy.in the form of NADPH and the energy is stored as ATP.

The Dark cycle or Calvin cycle occurs in the stroma of the chloroplast.Because there is no light involved in this cycle, the energy to that is needed to complete the cycle come from the Light reaction. The energized electrons from the Light reaction provide the energy to make carbon dioxide atoms and carbohydrates. The ATP and NADPH molecules that are produced from the Light reaction is also used as an energy source in the Calvin cycle.Carbon dioxide and energy combine to make sugars for the plant.

Photosynthesis makes the glucose that is used in cellular respiration to make ATP. Cellular respiration is referred to the biochemical process which cells release energy from the chemical bonds of food molecules and male ATP which produces energy.. All living things must carry out the process of Cellular respiration.The process can be either anaerobic, which occurs when there is a lack of oxygen, or aerobic, which occurs in the presence of oxygen.This takes place in the cytoplasm for Prokaryotes and in the mitochondria for

It breaks down glucose and forms pyruvate with the production of two molecules of ATP. Glycolysis starts out by glucose binding with two phosphate from two ATP molecules, then the ATP is converted to ADP and this is called phosphorylation. The six carbon product of phosphorylation splits into two molecules of PGAL. PGAL molecules bond with two more phosphate and hydrogens are removed. NAD picks up the hydrogen to become NADH+H. Phosphate groups are removed from the carbon compound form into ATP and pyruvic acid. There are two carbon compound so therefore there are four ATPs produced. Pyruvic acid is now available for cellular respiration.From here the process of either aerobic or anaerobic respiration occurs based on the