Question

Which element is not present in chlorophyll?
A. Carbon
B. Calcium
C. Magnesium
D. Hydrogen

Answer 1

Hint: You should know that Chlorophyll is the green pigment which is found in autotrophs. This helps to catch the solar light so that the autotrophs can perform photosynthesis.

Complete step by step answer:
First let us understand what chlorophyll is actually!
Chlorophyll is a pigment present in photosynthetic organisms like plants, algae and cyanobacteria. It has light harvesting centers where the sunlight is absorbed at different frequencies and a multi-step enzymatic breakdown takes place to yield glucose. There are different types of chlorophyll based on the biochemical properties.

In exact sense chlorophyll is a ring structure made of 4 pyrrole molecules. The whole thing made by these 4 pyrroles is known as porphyrin.

Let us see which mineral is present in chlorophyll.
You should know that magnesium is the only mineral element present in chlorophyll, though there are certain particular elements like carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen in composition of chlorophyll but are not considered as mineral elements. On a very general basis Plants require two metallic compounds (minerals) for chlorophyll synthesis. They are magnesium (Mg) and iron (Fe). They are essential macronutrients for plants. Plants require both Fe and Mg for the synthesis of chlorophyll.

Therefore, from what we have discussed above, we can tell that calcium is not present in chlorophyll. Hence, option B is the required answer.

Note: You should know that Chlorophyll plays an important role in making plants green and healthy. It also has vitamins, antioxidants, and therapeutic properties that may benefit your body. You can get chlorophyll from plants or supplements.