why do plants need a variety of pigments for photosynthesis?
912406
Different pigments (chlorophyll a and b) absorb light in different parts of the spectrum - so this maximizes light absorption.\n\nSome pigments (carotenoids and xanthophylls) perform a protective role by absorbing excessive light. If this light was absorbed by chlorophyll, it would damage the pigment and the leaf because the plant can't keep up the dark reactions (carbon fixation) at the same rate as the light reactions.
672889
>>>why most common chlorophyl on most leaves is the the\n>>> green one? not the red one, or other color instead...\n\nChlorophyll only comes in one colour: green. There are red and yellow accessory pigments, but they are not chlorophyll and serve only to transfer energy to chlorophyll. The chlorophyll is still required to use those accessory pigments.\n\nAs for why chlorophyll predominates, it is simply because chlorophyll blue light, and red wavelengths are the most common wavelength in sunlight. Or to put it another way, chlorophyll has evolved to absorb that part of the sunlight where the most energy is.\n\nIf leaves were any colour but green they would be wasting most of the energy in sunlight.
431527
Photosynthesis:\n\nCO2 + chlorophyl + sun light + water + minerals + energy -> O2 + food + water\n\n6 CO2 + 12 H2O + ATP + NADPH -> C6H12O6 + 6 O2 + 6 H2O \n\ncarbon dioxide + water + energy -> carbohydrate (glucose) + oxygen + water\n\nGreen plants and livings have chlorophyl make photosynthesis between sun rise and sun set.\n\nRespiration:\n\nC6H12O6 + 6 O2 -> 6CO2 + 6H2O + ATP\n\ncarbohydrate (glucose) + oxygen -> carbon dioxide + water + energy\n\nAll livings have respiratory system.
601745
Chlorophyll is only one of several photosynthetic pigments that plants use to collect sunlight and convert it to usable energy.  Others include carotene (orange) and xanthophyll (yellow).
272577
Carbon dioxide, because that is the raw material required for photosynthesis
351720
The leaves of a plant play an important role in the plant. The leaves capture sunlight and use it along with carbon dioxide to produce food for the plant. Tthe process gives off oxygen. The leaves also store the food for future uses. The leaves have stomata for the escape of the not needed oxygen.
581576
Chlorophyll-This is the green chemical that plants use to make energy.  Fungi do not have this, thus are more like bacteria, or even animals, in that they generate energy by bringing in nutrients and oxidizing them.  There are many things that plants have which fungi do not, including true roots.
702891
Because trees go through photosynthesis that's a process where trees have these pigments called chlorophyll ( that are colored green) that absorb the green spectrum of light and converts the energy absorbed by the light in combination with CO2 into oxygen and starch ( stored in their bodies for food). The trees are full of chlorophyll therefore they are green and not blue.
80266
plants need minerals as their food through the process of photosynthesis as people need minerals, vitamins, carbohydrates, protein fats , oil, etc as food through the process of digestion and assimilation
1070382
What is Photosynthesis? Photosynthesis is the process by which plants, some bacteria, and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar, which cellular respiration converts into ATP, the "fuel" used by all living things. The conversion of unusable sunlight energy into usable chemical energy, is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll. Most of the time, the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen that we absolutely must have to stay alive. Oh yes, we need the food as well!\n\n-------------------------------------------------------------\nSuagr and Oxygen is produced. I think thats right.
928154
Chlorophyll only absorbs certain wavelengths of light and is in turn photoexcited -- it uses that light energy to bump an electron up the the primary electron acceptor of the photosystem.  It makes sense to have other pigments that absorb other wavelengths and pass on electrons for energy conversion for the simple reason of total utilization of light -- the more light you can absorb, the more efficiently you will make energy, and if Mother Nature loves anything, it's efficiency.
654639
Red algae or Division Rhodophyta is a group of algae in which the red pigment is dominant; but that does not mean that they do not have green pigment or chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b . They DO possess these two pigments which are very essential for photosynthesis. Only thing is , they are MASKED by red pigments and hence the name Red algae.\n\nSo the answer is straight and clear. Red algae Do perform Photosynthesis.
986566
Hello friend.. \nHope you have heard of chlorophyll and other colouring (pigments) agents naturally present in plant leaves.Chlorophyll is the chief chemical helping reactions that finally end up in production of starchy food in plants. \nThese chlorophylls themselves break down and  are being continually used up in the food-manufacturing process. \nBut while the plant grows the plant resynthesizes this pigment and  leaves seem green.\nBy the end of  summer, cells called cork cells, which are degenerate products, get accumulated in the base of the leaf-stump. This results in blockage of water transport to leaves through their "veins".  Chlorophyll from then on degenerates and breaks down. \n    In the fall (autumn as we call it here), seasonal changes slow down the rate of  chlorophyll-synthesis.\nCarotenoids which are another group of pigments present in leaves become clearly visible through these leaves devoid of Chlorophyll. Light is not needed in order for a plant to produce carotenoids, therefore these pigments are always present in a living plant. Aspen, Black Cherry, Sycamore,  Maple and  Poplar are some of the trees famous for their pictureque beauty in Autumn. Carotenoids appear in colours ranging from Brown or red to yellow depending on its concentration in these leaves.  Examples of carotenoids found in leaves include lycopene, which is red, and xanthophyll, which is yellow.  When found naturally, carotenoids give colour to carrots, beetroot, and a number of plant and animal produces like mango, banana egg yolks etc.\nBesides these natural Carotenoids, there are a group of pigments called Flavanoids that appear in the leaves only during autumn. Examples of flavonoids include flavone and flavol, which are yellow, and the anthocyanins, which may be red, blue, or purple, depending on pH (strawberry, apple,  cherry etc..)Anthocyanins are the chief agents among these flavanoids. They are a result of degeneration of sugar moieties in leaves. In autumn, as a plan to prevent losing precious minerals, ions and vitamin-enzymes through falling leaves, these chemicals are transported into the trunk/stem of the plant. But Carbohydrates, being complex molecules aren't transpoted to the main stem/trunk. The transport of ions back into stem causes a  fall in the phosphate concentration in the leaves,which in turn triggers production of Anthocyanins. This process is dependent on physical influences like soil-acidity and brightness of Sun light. Brighter, the days, brighter the colour of autumn leaves and vice versa.\nLeaves containing primarily anthocyanins will appear red. Leaves with good amounts of both anthocyanins and carotenoids will appear orange. Leaves with carotenoids but little or no anthocyanins will appear yellow. In the absence of these pigments, other plant chemicals also can affect leaf color. An example includes tannins, which are responsible for the brownish color of some Oak leaves. \nHope that clears your doubt.\nbye..
20091
yes, any light can.  photosynthesis just requires photons of light at certain wavelengths, and any white light whether 'natural' or 'artificial' contains all wavelengths of light, and so photons of the proper wavelength will reach the plant and allow photosynthesis to occur.  there is nothing special about the photons from sunlight.  if i remember correctly, the wavelength plants need is 680nm for photosystem I and 700nm for photosystemII(or maybe i have that backwards) in the light cycle of photosynthesis... well anyway, you should be fine with any kind of light as long as it's not purely green light(because chlorophyll can not absorb green light, it reflects green light which is why it is green and leaves without pigmentation are green.)
121344
All green plants need light to make carbohydrates,their food, which in common terms we say starch,thro' photosynthesis.For this photosynthesis, plant requires Sunlight,chlorophyll & water.
338231
Photosynthesis is the process by which plants, some bacteria, and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar, which cellular respiration converts into ATP, the "fuel" used by all living things. The conversion of unusable sunlight energy into usable chemical energy, is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll. Most of the time, the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen that we absolutely must have to stay alive. Oh yes, we need the food as well!
528985
the colour of plants depend on various colouring agents called pigments. some pigments (cytochromes) found in the leaf include chlorophylla,b(green), carotenoids(yellow-orange), xanthophylls(yellow). the colour of the leaf depends on the proportion in which these pigments are present(as these pigments play an important role in photosynthesis, they are present in the chloroplasts present in the leaves). also chlorophyll a is called universal pigment as all plants contain it and other pigments are called accesory pigments.