Question

Which chlorophyll molecule does not have a phytol tail.
A) Chlorophyll a
B) Chlorophyll b
C) Chlorophyll c
D) Chlorophyll d

Answer 1

Hint:Plants are the primary producers of almost all ecosystems. They are autotrophs as they prepare food. Consumers depend upon plants for food. Plants prepare food by a process called photosynthesis.

Complete answer:
 We all know that plants prepare food by a process called photosynthesis. It happens mainly in the leaves and also other parts of the plants. In this process, plants use solar energy from sunlight and convert it into chemical energy which is used to prepare food.

Sunlight is an important raw material needed by plants for photosynthesis. Plants perform this process at day time in order to obtain sunlight. Know that there is a pigment that is present in almost all green parts of the plants that traps sunlight for this process. It is called chlorophyll. Keep in mind that there are other pigments like carotenoids and xanthophyll that help to absorb sunlight.

Chlorophyll are the green pigments present in plants that help to absorb sunlight. Many types of chlorophyll are known. They are chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, chlorophyll c and chlorophyll d. Among these, chlorophyll a is widely distributed in all autotrophic plants. Know that chlorophyll contains a porphyrin ring that has a magnesium atom at the centre. A long hydrocarbon chain will be connected to it called phytol tail.

Chlorophyll c lacks phytol tail while all other types present this long chain hydrocarbon.

Hence the correct answer is option ‘C’ i.e, Chlorophyll c

Note:Reason behind the green colour of leaves lies within the chlorophyll. Chlorophyll molecules absorb only red, blue and violet lights in the visible spectrum and it reflects green. Because of this, leaves appear green.