
Sarah B. answered 11/24/24
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The organelle responsible for photosynthesis in plants is the chloroplast.
Key Points About Chloroplasts:
- Structure:
- Chloroplasts contain a green pigment called chlorophyll, which captures sunlight.
- They have an internal system of stacked membranes called thylakoids, organized into stacks called grana, where light-dependent reactions occur.
- The surrounding fluid, called the stroma, is where the light-independent reactions (Calvin cycle) take place.
- Function in Photosynthesis:
- Light-Dependent Reactions: Occur in the thylakoids; sunlight is converted into chemical energy in the form of ATP and NADPH.
- Calvin Cycle (Light-Independent Reactions): Occurs in the stroma; carbon dioxide is used to produce glucose using the ATP and NADPH generated earlier.
- Importance:
- Chloroplasts enable plants to convert solar energy into chemical energy, producing oxygen as a byproduct and forming the basis of most life on Earth by supplying energy to other organisms.