How do plant and animal cells metabolize energy in complementary ways? (Hint: look at the end products of photosynthesis and cellular respiration.) What does this suggest about the flow of energy and the recycling of elements through living organisms? Can you think of any other similar relationships?

Question

anonymous · Answer

I thought that plants and animals metabolize in opposite ways.

anonymous · Answer

Complementary can sometimes mean opposite ways, if the two processes form a cycle: A goes to B, and B goes to A

anonymous · Answer

in photosynthesis, carbon assimilation takes place and after this this carbon is used to fulfill their need but in the animals, the carbon is stored from plants by eating plants which was formed by photosynthesis in dark reaction. then death and by excretion the carbon is returned to environment to utilized by plants and others so we can say that these cycle help to complete the element cycle.... and flow of energy is off course a well known process. there are many cycles of this type in nature like in microbial interaction wher the fungi degraded cellulose into small carbon compounds and these carbon compounds are the food of several soil microbes.  :)