Besides absorbing light, many carotenoids protect the plant by:
AStoring surplus sugar as starch
BBlocking all incoming blue light
CDissipating excess energy as heat
DRepairing damaged chlorophyll fast
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: C. Dissipating excess energy as heat
1. A leaf in full sun receives more energy than its reaction centres can use.
2. Surplus excitation would otherwise damage the photosystems.
3. Many carotenoids reside in the thylakoid membrane, absorb excess energy, and safely dissipate that energy as heat.
4. That protective role is separate from their contribution to light harvesting.
_Source: OpenStax Biology for AP(R) Courses (CC BY 4.0), Ch 8 'Photosynthesis', sections 8.1-8.3_
Related questions
The light-independent reactions still depend on the light reactions because they need:Roughly what share of the oxygen produced in a leaf is used by the leaf's own mitochondriaLight of energy higher than blue damages pigment molecules in a process called:Bacteria that build sugars using energy from inorganic chemicals rather than light are:The coal and petroleum burned today store sunlight captured by photosynthesis roughly:How many turns of the Calvin cycle are needed before one G3P leaves it?The three-carbon carbohydrate that carbon dioxide is first fixed into is:The flow of hydrogen ions through ATP synthase is called: