What is Chlorophyll?
[[File:Leavessnipedale.jpg|thumb|Chlorophyll gives leaves their green color and absorbs light that is used in photosynthesis.]] [[File:Clorofila 3.jpg|thumb|Chlorophyll is found in high concentrations in [[chloroplast]]s of plant cells.]] [[File:Chlorofilab.png|thumb|Absorption maxima of chlorophylls against the spectrum of white light.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}]] [[File:AYool SEAWIFS annual.png|thumb|[[SeaWiFS]]-derived average sea surface '''chlorophyll''' for the period 1998 to 2006.]] '''Chlorophyll''' is a pigment that gives [[plant]]s their green colour. Chlorophyll is a chemical in the [[chloroplasts]] of plants. It allows plants to absorb and use light. Energy from the light is used in [[photosynthesis]] to make [[glucose]]. This contains lots of stored energy which the plant needs to release. It does this through [[respiration]]. This energy is then used when the plant grows or repairs damage. Chlorophyll also makes the stem and leaf of the plant green. Chlorophyll is a green [[pigment]] in almost all [[plant]]s, [[alga]]e, and [[cyanobacteria]]. It absorbs light most strongly in the blue portion of the [[electromagnetic spectrum]], followed by the red portion. However, it is a poor absorber of green and near-green portions of the spectrum.<ref> {{cite web | author = Speer, Brian R. | year = 1997 | title = Photosynthetic pigments | work = UCMP Glossary (online) | publisher = University of California Museum of Paleontology | url = http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss3/pigments.html | access-date = 2010-07-17 }}</ref> Chlorophyll was first isolated in 1817.<ref> {{cite journal | author = Delépine, Marcel | author-link = :fr:Marcel Delépine |date=September 1951 | title = Joseph Pelletier and Joseph Caventou | journal = Journal of Chemical Education | volume = 28 | issue = 9 | page = 454 | issn = 0021-9584 | doi = 10.1021/ed028p454 | bibcode = 1951JChEd..28..454D | url = http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ed028p454 }}</ref> == Chlorophyll and photosynthesis == Chlorophyll is necessary for [