Question

however, plants use only a small fraction of the light energy that strikes them because the pigments that drive photosynthesis can only absorb wavelengths in specific parts of the spectrum. this graph shows the absorbance spectra for the two major photosynthetic pigments in plants: chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b. why are leaves and other plant parts that have chlorophyll-containing cells green? the energy available in the green and yellow parts of the visible spectrum is wasted in terms of driving photosynthesis. chlorophylls are not the only pigments found in photosynthetically active tissues, and the other pigments have different absorption spectra. the chlorophylls absorb most of the violet-blue and orange-red wavelengths, but reflect green and yellow wavelengths, which is what we see. did you fully understand the concept covered in this

Explanation:

Plants appear green because chlorophylls absorb violet - blue and orange - red wavelengths (as shown in the graph), but reflect green and yellow wavelengths. This reflection is what we perceive as the green color of leaves and other plant parts with chlorophyll - containing cells. The first option only mentions the energy in green and yellow being wasted but doesn't directly explain the color we see. The second option about other pigments is not relevant to explaining the green color when the question is specifically about chlorophyll - containing cells.

Answer:

The chlorophylls absorb most of the violet - blue and orange - red wavelengths, but reflect green and yellow wavelengths, which is what we see.