Outline5 marksStandard
A student investigated the Calvin cycle using isolated chloroplasts illuminated with light. They supplied the chloroplasts with radioactive 14CO2 and measured the appearance of radioactivity in various compounds over time. The radioactivity first appeared in GP (glycerate 3-phosphate), then in TP (triose phosphate), and later in sucrose and alanine.
Outline how the Calvin cycle intermediates are used to synthesise carbohydrates (such as sucrose) and amino acids (such as alanine).