Question

Differentiate between chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b.

Answer 1

• Chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b are the two main pigments which occur in higher plants. The empirical formulae for chlorophyll a is $C_{55}{H}_{72}{O}_5{N}_{4}Mg$ and it is usually blue-green in colour and that of chlorophyll b is $C_{55}{H}_{70}{O}_6{N}_{4}Mg$ and it is yellow-green.
• Chlorophyll a has a methyl group $(-C{H}_3)$ attached to the third carbon, which is replaced by an aldehyde group $(-CHO)$ in chl. b.