Why Are Plant Leaves Green?
A. Plants contain chlorophyll pigments in their chloroplasts. Chlorophylls are green pigments. Sunlight, or white light, is a spectrum of colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Green leaves, exposed to light, absorb and reflect light. Chlorophyll molecules interact with light and remove red and blue-violet light, but not the green. The green light is reflected back to the eye and green is seen. Remember, white objects reflect back most of the light that strikes their surfaces, and black objects absorb most of the light that strikes them. Q. What Really Happens in Photosynthesis? A. Photosynthesis is a physical and chemical process. The light energy in the red and blue regions of the spectrum (680 and 700 nanometers) is captured or trapped by two, distinct chlorophyll reaction centers, PS2 (P680) and PS1 (P700). The chlorophyll systems produce chemical energy from the light energy. The raw materials of carbon dioxide and water are used to make sugar and oxygen. doc
