What is the overall efficiency of energy conversion if 1 mole of ATP is formed per 2 equivalents of electrons excited by red light (which is per einsteins of photons)
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Answer:
The energy efficiency of photosynthesis is the ratio of the energy stored to the energy of light absorbed. The chemical energy stored is the difference between that contained in gaseous oxygen and organic compound products and the energy of water, carbon dioxide, and other reactants. The amount of energy stored can only be estimated because many products are formed, and these vary with the plant species and environmental conditions. If the equation for glucose formation given earlier is used to approximate the actual storage process, the production of one mole (i.e., 6.02 × 1023 molecules; abbreviated N) of oxygen and one-sixth mole of glucose results in the storage of about 117 kilocalories (kcal) of chemical energy. This amount must then be compared with the energy of light absorbed to produce one mole of oxygen in order to calculate the efficiency of photosynthesis.
Light can be described as a wave of particles known as photons; these are units of energy, or light quanta. The quantity N photons is called an einstein. The energy of light varies inversely with the length of the photon waves; that is, the shorter the wavelength, the greater the energy content. The energy (e) of a photon is given by the equation e = hc/λ, where c is the velocity of light, h is Planck’s constant, and λ is the light wavelength. The energy (E) of an einstein is E = Ne = Nhc/λ = 28,600/λ, when E is in kilocalories and λ is given in nanometres (nm; 1 nm = 10−9 metres). An einstein of red light with a wavelength of 680 nm has an energy of about 42 kcal. Blue light has a shorter wavelength and therefore more energy than red light. Regardless of whether the light is blue or red, however, the same number of einsteins are required for photosynthesis per mole of oxygen formed. The part of the solar spectrum used by plants has an estimated mean wavelength of 570 nm; therefore, the energy of light used during photosynthesis is approximately 28,600/570, or 50 kcal per einstein.
In order to compute the amount of light energy involved in photosynthesis, one other value is needed: the number of einsteins absorbed per mole of oxygen evolved. This is called the quantum requirement. The minimum quantum requirement for photosynthesis under optimal conditions is about nine. Thus, the energy used is 9 × 50, or 450 kcal per mole of oxygen evolved. Therefore, the estimated maximum energy efficiency of photosynthesis is the energy stored per mole of oxygen evolved, 117 kcal, divided by 450—that is, 117/450, or 26 percent.
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