The plant's principal pigment that captures energy from sunlight is called?

• A. Chlorophyll
• B. Carotene
• C. Melanin
• D. Phycocyanin

Answer: (A)

Chlorophyll is the plant's main pigment for capturing light energy in photosynthesis. It sits in the chloroplasts’ thylakoid membranes and acts as the primary light-absorbing molecule in the photosystems, especially chlorophyll a. By absorbing blue and red light and reflecting green, it effectively starts the energy transfer that drives the light-dependent reactions, leading to the production of ATP and NADPH used to power sugar synthesis. Other pigments like carotene are accessory pigments that broaden light absorption and help protect against excess light, while melanin isn’t involved in photosynthesis and phycocyanin appears in algae and cyanobacteria rather than in typical plants. So, chlorophyll is the correct, central pigment for capturing sunlight in plants.