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Green plants are green because they contain a pigment called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll absorbs certain wavelengths of light within the visible light spectrum. As shown in detail in the absorption spectra, chlorophyll absorbs light in the red (long wavelength) and the blue (short wavelength) regions of the visible light spectrum. Green light is not absorbed but reflected, making the plant appear green.
Chlorophyll is found in the chloroplasts of plants. There are various types of chlorophyll structures, but plants contain chlorophyll a and b. These two types of chlorophyll differ only slightly, in the composition of a single side chain.
Absorption spectra showing how the different side chains in chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b result in slightly different absorptions of visible light. Light with a wavelength of 460 nm is not significantly absorbed by chlorophyll a, but will instead be captured by chlorophyll b, which absorbs strongly at that wavelength. The two kinds of chlorophyll in plants complement each other in absorbing sunlight. Plants are able to satisfy their energy requirements by absorbing light from the blue and red parts of the spectrum. However, there is still a large spectral region between 500 and 600 nm where chlorophyll absorbs very little light, and plants appear green because this light is reflected.
What is chlorophyll?
What is chlorophyll?
Chlorophyll is a compound that is known as a chelate. A chelate consists of a central metal ion bonded to a large organic molecule, composed of carbon, hydrogen, and other elements such as oxygen and nitrogen.
Chlorophyll has magnesium as its central metal ion, and the large organic molecule to which it bonds is known as a porphyrin. The porphyrin contains four nitrogen atoms bonded to the magnesium ion in a square planar arrangement. Chlorophyll occurs in a variety of forms.
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