Student notes on photosynthesis aimed at Year 10. Covers: definition of photosynthesis and producers/autotrophs; importance of oxygenic photosynthesis (water splitting → O2); light-use efficiency in plants (0.1%–8%, crops ~1%–2%); the two phases of photosynthesis (light-dependent in thylakoid membranes producing ATP and NADPH; light-independent/Calvin cycle in stroma fixing CO2 to triose phosphate); chloroplast structure labels and the central enzyme Rubisco (noted as inefficient: ~3 reactions per second and very abundant). Each section includes short review questions for students.
Questions this document answers
0.1% to 8%
About 1%–2%
About three reactions per second