Reef Chemistry Question of the Day #215 Metals in Chlorophyll

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Reef Chemistry Question of the Day #215

Which of the following metals is present in all chlorophyll molecules?

A. Calcium
B. Magnesium
C. Iron
D. Vanadium

Good luck!
































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[revhtree]

I am going to go with B!

 

[JimWelsh]

Magnesium is to chlorophyll as iron is to hemoglobin. Answer is B.

 

[CNDReef]

B

 

[beaslbob]

b

 

[Tro]

B. Final answer.

Studied chlorophyll and when it loses its magnesium. Typically turns yellow.

 

[Ghxst]

B

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

And the answer is...

B. Magnesium

Everyone was perfect!

Chlorophyll is described well here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorophyll

"Chlorophyll is a chlorin pigment, which is structurally similar to and produced through the same metabolic pathway as other porphyrin pigments such as heme. At the center of the chlorin ring is a magnesium ion. This was discovered in 1906,[11] and was the first time that magnesium had been detected in living tissue"


This figure is from a different site, but note the internal magnesium in the middle of the ring:

http://www.chem.ucla.edu/~harding/IGOC/C/chlorophyll.html

 

[MnFish1]

MG lol

 

[beaslbob]

<google is a friend