Q As a class, discuss why plants have two types of chlorophyll instead of just one. How does this benefit them? What would you expect concerning the rate of photosynthesis for a plant that had only one type of chlorophyll?
Chlorophyll a and b both are needed for photosynthesis. Chlorophyll a is abundant in green plants and they predominantly control the light-harvesting complex (LHC) of photosynthesis. There are two types of chlorophyll a: one absorbs the red light of the visible light spectrum and the red light is of 680 nm; and another type of chlorophyll-a absorbs the far-red light which is 780 nm.