A plant is provided with ideal conditions for photosynthesis and is supplied with 14CO2. When the products of the process are analyzed carefully, what would be the nature of the products?
A plant is provided with ideal conditions for photosynthesis and is supplied with 14CO2. When the products of the process are analyzed carefully, what would be the nature of the products?
The correct option is D Glucose is labelled, but oxygen is normal
The question states that the carbon atom of the carbon dioxide molecule is not the normal carbon, but is a radioactive isotope of carbon. Labelling of a molecule with a radioactive atom usually helps in tracking the movement and conversions of the atom. When radiocarbon labelled carbon dioxide is supplied to a plant, photosynthesis takes place
614CO2+6H2O→14C6H12O6+6O2
From the photosynthesis equation, you can see that the 14C molecule is transferred from the carbon dioxide to the glucose. And since glucose is the only molecule that contains carbon, we can say that only glucose will be labelled with 14C and not oxygen molecule.
Glucose is labelled, but oxygen is normal
The question states that the carbon atom of the carbon dioxide molecule is not the normal carbon, but is a radioactive isotope of carbon. Labelling of a molecule with a radioactive atom usually helps in tracking the movement and conversions of the atom. When radiocarbon labelled carbon dioxide is supplied to a plant, photosynthesis takes place
614CO2+6H2O→14C6H12O6+6O2
From the photosynthesis equation, you can see that the 14C molecule is transferred from the carbon dioxide to the glucose. And since glucose is the only molecule that contains carbon, we can say that only glucose will be labelled with 14C and not oxygen molecule.
