Question:easy

Which one of the following options represents the products of light reactions of photosynthesis in plants?

Show Hint

Match each product to its source: water splitting gives \(O_2\), electron transport reduces NADP+ to NADPH, and the proton gradient makes ATP.
Updated On: Aug 7, 2026
  • \(O_2\)/NADH/\(H_2\)
  • \(O_2\)/NADP\(^+\)/\(CO_2\)
  • \(O_2\)/NADPH/ATP
  • \(O_2\)/NADP\(^+\)/ATP
Show Solution

The Correct Option is C

Solution and Explanation

The light reactions convert light energy into chemical energy carriers, so the question is really asking what those carriers are, along with the one gas byproduct.

  1. $O_2$/NADH/$H_2$: $O_2$ is correct, water splitting at photosystem II does release oxygen. But the electron carrier reduced in photosynthesis is $NADP^+$, giving $NADPH$, not $NAD^+$ giving $NADH$ (that pairing belongs to respiration). No free hydrogen gas is released either.
  2. $O_2$/NADP$^+$/$CO_2$: $O_2$ is right, but $NADP^+$ is the oxidized form that gets used up as a reactant, not made as a product, and $CO_2$ is taken in (fixed) during the Calvin cycle; it is never a product of the light reactions.
  3. $O_2$/NADPH/ATP: $O_2$ comes from splitting water. $NADPH$ comes from reducing $NADP^+$ with the electrons freed at the end of the transport chain. $ATP$ comes from the proton gradient driving ATP synthase. All three are genuine products of the light reactions.
  4. $O_2$/NADP$^+$/ATP: $ATP$ and $O_2$ are right, but this option keeps $NADP^+$ in its oxidized form instead of the reduced $NADPH$ that the chloroplast actually hands off to the Calvin cycle.

Only the third option lists all three real products correctly: oxygen, reduced NADPH, and ATP.

Let's summarize:

  • Water splitting at photosystem II gives $O_2$.
  • Electron transport ends by reducing $NADP^+$ to $NADPH$.
  • The proton gradient built across the thylakoid membrane powers ATP synthase to make $ATP$.

The products of the light reactions are $O_2$, $NADPH$, and $ATP$.

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