Question

What is chlorophyll? Name the organelle in which it is present? Is it present in all types of cells?

Answer 1

Hint: Plants prepare their food by the process of photosynthesis. This process is solely dependent on sunlight and chlorophyll. Animals cannot prepare their food as they lack chlorophyll.

Complete answer:
To answer this question, we must know about the significance of chlorophyll.
Chlorophyll is the green coloured pigment present in the photosynthetic organisms like plant cells, cyanobacteria (prokaryotes). This pigment is capable of absorbing sunlight and converting it into chemical energy. Chlorophyll contains a porphyrin head and a long hydrocarbon tail which is lipid soluble. Chlorophyll present in higher plants and bacteria is chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b. They can absorb higher frequencies of blue light.
Chlorophyll is present in the thylakoids of the chloroplast. It is the main centre for light reaction. Chloroplast itself functions as a cell as it contains its own genetic material. Chloroplast is absent in animal cells. In prokaryotic photosynthetic organisms, the chlorophyll is attached in the infoldings of the plasma membrane.

Additional Information: Chlorophyll a is the most abundant pigment in plants. It absorbs light of wavelength 430nm in the blue range to 662 nm in the red range. It appears green as it reflects green light. It is used as a colouring agent in food and medicines.

Note:Chloroplast performs photosynthesis during the daytime. The immediate products of photosynthesis are NADPH and ATP. These are immediately utilised by the cell in carrying out other cellular activities.