Question

Is there a complete one-to-one overlap between the absorption spectrum of chlorophyll a and the action spectrum of photosynthesis?

Answer 1

Part 1: Introduction
The representation of the different wavelengths of light absorbed by the different pigments (chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, xanthophyll and carotenoids) is called absorption spectrum. The representation of wavelength at which photosynthesis occurs is called the action spectrum.

Part 2: Overlapping of absorption and action spectrum
The absorption spectrum of chlorophyll a does not exactly overlap with the action spectrum of photosynthesis. This is because, other than chlorophyll a there are other pigments that are also involved in photosynthesis.