Exemplar Problems

Question:

Chlorophyll a is the primary pigment for light reaction. What are accessory pigments? What is their role in photosynthesis?

Answer:

Thylakoid pigments such as chlorophyll b, xanthophylls and carotenoids are called accessory pigments. These pigments absorb light and transfer the energy to chlorophyll a. They not only enable a wider range of wavelength of incoming light to be utilised for photosyntesis but also protect chlorophyll a from photo-oxidation.