AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Pigments within the light-harvesting complexes absorb light and pass energy to a special pair of chlorophyll a molecules in the reaction center. The absorbed energy cause an electron from the chlorophyll a to be passed to a primary electron acceptor.

Detailed explanation-2: -Definition. Photosynthetic pigments are the molecules responsible for absorbing electromagnetic radiation, transferring the energy of the absorbed photons to the reaction center, and for photochemical conversion in the photosynthetic systems of organisms capable of photosynthesis.

Detailed explanation-3: -Photosynthetic cells contain chlorophyll and other light-sensitive pigments that capture solar energy. In the presence of carbon dioxide, such cells are able to convert this solar energy into energy-rich organic molecules, such as glucose.

Detailed explanation-4: -The light-dependent reactions convert light energy into chemical energy. The goal of the light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis is to collect energy from the sun and break down water molecules to produce ATP and NADPH. These two energy-storing molecules are then used in the light-independent reactions.

Detailed explanation-5: -Because they interact with light to absorb only certain wavelengths, pigments are useful to plants and other autotrophs–organisms which make their own food using photosynthesis. In plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, pigments are the means by which the energy of sunlight is captured for photosynthesis.