• Question: What is in Chloroplast?

    Asked by Odhrán Moloney to Anthea, Chloe, Kevin, Michel, Sean on 11 Nov 2014.
    • Photo: Anthea Lacchia

      Anthea Lacchia answered on 11 Nov 2014:

      Chloroplasts are remarkable, tiny energy factories! They are present in plants and certain algae. They capture energy from the sun and convert it into usable chemical energy, through the process of photosynthesis. They are made of stacks of discs called thylakoids, which look like stacks of coins. These stacks which do the capturing contain pigments such as chlorophyll, that convert the photons present in the light from the sun into sugars through several processes.
      Did you know that, on average, the chloroplast density on the surface of a leaf is about one-half million chloroplast per square millimeter?! That’s pretty cool! 😉

    • Photo: Chloe Kinsella

      Chloe Kinsella answered on 11 Nov 2014:

      When you look at a plants leaf and you see a green colour, what you are actually seeing is a collection of chloroplasts. These tiny factories within the cell contain a green chemical called chlorophyll. They come in a range of shapes and have an inner and outer membrane. Inside the inner membrane there is liquid called stroma and stacks of sacks called thylakoids (this is where you find the chlorophyll).

      The chloroplasts convert energy from the sun and carbon dioxide to oxygen and new plant material. We rely on plants to make this oxygen, as without it there would be no oxygen for us to breathe.

    • Photo: Kevin Healy

      Kevin Healy answered on 11 Nov 2014:

      A chloroplast is a special type of cell in the leaves of plants and also in algea which make up most of the plankton in the sea.
      the chloroplast is were the light energy is converted into chemical energy which allows plants to grow using sunlight.

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