Photosynthesis

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measure the height of all the plants at the end of six weeks
and record the data.
The first step of photosynthesis is the absorption of light by a
chlorophyll molecule. "The energy of the absorbed photon is transferred from
one chlorophyll molecule to another until it reaches a site called a reaction
center....One oxygen molecule is produced per eight photons absorbed." (Alberty
708) James Huheey, professor at the University of Maryland, talks about
chlorophyll in his book Inorganic Chemistry: "Chlorophyll absorbs low-energy
light in the far red region....Such absorption serves a twofold function: (1)The
energy may be passed along to the chlorophyll system and used in photosynthesis;
(2)It protects the biological system from photochemical damage." (629)
"Chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b contain networks of alternating single and
double bands, and have strong absorption bands in the visible part of the
spectrum....," says Robert Alberty, who is a professor of chemistry at ...

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