plants produce co2 as a product of cellular respiration. but you know that plants release oxygen, not co2. Develop a logical argument for how this is possible.
hint: Think about both chemical reactions and the speeds at which they could occur

Question

plants produce co2 as a product of cellular respiration. but you know that plants release oxygen, not co2. Develop a logical argument for how this is possible.
hint: Think about both chemical reactions and the speeds at which they could occur

anonymous · Answer

Plants go through cellular respiration when they are not using photosynthesis for their metabolic needs.  One example of this is in seed germination. The seed is under ground, no leaves have developed, and light is not available, so photosytheis is impossible. Yet, the food stored in the seed is respired using molecular oxygen to build tissue and carbon dioxide is given off as waste gas.  Once leaves are established the CO2 that is given off can be recycled into the plant's photosynthetic process which then takes over and the dominant process and more O2 is given off.  Of course if it is a deciduous tree, in the spring when the tree is leaf-less and the tree has to draw on it's stored food reserves respiration once again becomes the tree's dominant process giving off more CO2 than O2.