Chapter 10.4, Problem 2CC

Summary Introduction

To explain: A large number of ATP and NADPH molecules are used during the Calvin cycle with a high value of glucose.

Introduction:

The plant cell is able to construct carbohydrate molecules for its own use once it has turned the energy from the sun into ATP (adenosine triphosphate) and NADPH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate). Carbon dioxide, a gas exhaled by animals and humans with every breath, provides the carbon atoms needed to construct carbohydrate molecules in plants. During photosynthesis, the energy produced by the light-dependent processes is used in a series of events known as the Calvin cycle to produce glucose and other carbohydrate molecules.