Question

What is the relationship between Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration?

Answer 1

I am in this advance science class, and the book we got does not explain this answer. I really need help because it is due tomorrow. Please and thank you.

Answer 2

photosynthesis removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and cellular respiration puts it back. Photosynthesis releases oxygen into the atmosphere, and cellular respiration uses that oxygen to release energy from food.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

they cooperate
in other words if one doesnt occur in plant, meaning if lets say photosynthesis stops while cell respiration is still running- plant will have next to no chances to survive
same as if cell respiration stops & photosynthesis keeps running
***
Photosynthesis is the process by which a plant uses light + water + CO2 to make glucose + oxygen
While respiration
uses both
glucose + oxygen
and releases CO2 + water + energy
so photosynthesis makes food
while respiration turns that food into its usable form- energy

Answer 5

so both processes are vital for plant's survival
if photosynthesis stops- no glucose- thus cellular respiration cannot run - no energy produced - death of the cell
if cellular respiration stops- amount of glucose will keep increasing while plant will be actually starving - because glucose is useless if it cannot be converted to energy - thus no energy can be derived coz cellular respiration is not running- plant will keep starving- eventually leads to plant death

Answer 6

I don't think the previous posts are as clear as they could be.

The overall equation for photosynthesis is:

6CO2 + 6H2O -> C6H12O6 + 6 O2

Plants that use photosynthesis (not all do), have special organelles in their cells called chloroplasts. This is where photosynthesis is centered and why plants are usually green. Basically, special proteins are able to capture the energy in a photon to break apart water, thereby gaining a free electron. Breaking down H2O is where the product O2 comes from. Through several more steps glucose is synthesized.

Whether an organism performs photosynthesis or not, the organism must use some process to utilized glucose. Talking about this in Eukaryotes is easier. In plants and animals, and any other Eukaryote organism, cellular respiration largely takes place in the mitochondria—another special organelle.

The formula is the reverse of photosynthesis, so:

C6H12O6 + 6O2 -> 6CO2 + 6H2O

This system uses the energy from breaking apart glucose to make ATP. Just as burning coal was once used as fuel for trains, ATP is used as fuel for a cell.

Since it is the opposite, the reaction results in the production of free electrons. Letting free electrons run around in cells is very bad. Oxygen LOVES electrons. In fact, it attracts electrons the best. Nearly all cells create H2O with the free electrons and H+ and oxygen. If oxygen is used, it is aerobic respiration. If something beside oxygen is used to accept the, it is anaerobic respiration.

BOTH: For both, the change in Gibb's Free Energy is the same, but opposite. The difference in free energy from the reactants to the products in the photosynthesis equation is positive (+). For cellular respiration this difference is negative (-), but the exact opposite of the amount in photosynthesis. So, photosynthesis has a change in free energy of +686 kcal, and cellular respiration has a change in free energy of -686 kcal. Any energy lost is lost as heat energy, this is why 90% of energy is lost when you go "up" a food chain (aka food web, aka food pyramid).

Both have a system of proteins in a plasma membrane that transport the electron during the processes (this is called the electron transport chain). The processes that I did not mention can be controlled separately. This way plants can save energy by utilizing photosynthesis when it is best to do so, like during the day. The plants can then shut down photosynthesis can utilize the glucose made in cellular respiration.

IMPORTANT!!!
Despite what some may say, fermentation is NOT a form of anaerobic respiration. Fermentation results in end products like ethanol, lactic acid, and vinegar. Fermentation is missing a lot of reactions that occur in anaerobic respiration.


No matter the type, cellular respiration would not have evolved if photosynthesis had not evolved to make glucose. To my knowledge, there is no natural source of glucose that is not from a organism. You cannot mine glucose like you can salt.

If you want I can go into much more detail.

Answer 7

Everyone should avoid saying "create energy". This violates the first law of thermodynamics. Energy cannot be created, not can it be destroyed. Energy can only be converted to different forms. Practicing this now will help you in physics and chemistry, where professors may really hammer you using terms like this.

Answer 8

@mrdoldum as expected, brilliant. lol i always feel nervous when you start typing, its like exam to me (๑>ᴗ<๑)

Answer 9

@mrdoldum wow, very detailed. You should be everyone's teacher!

Answer 10

@Somy @alias Thanks guys. As it happens, I am actually teaching photosynthesis and cellular respiration tomorrow to my Introduction to Biology 102 labs.

I have some typos and things I would like to clarify (I answered that without enough sleep).

The free electron in both photosynthesis and cellular respiration is used to drive certain reactions.

Plants want to separate photosynthesis and cellular respiration because during photosynthesis plants use small pores (stoma, pl. stomata) to allow gas exchange. However, plants will not need these pores as much in cellular respiration. Leaving the pores open would allow too much moisture to escape.

The "products" of fermentation I listed are not the products a cell can use. These are the byproducts that cells utilize to to remove free electrons and the such. Once that job is done those chemicals have no use and are typically expelled from the cell. This is why there is ethanol in beer. The yeast made ethanol as a byproduct and expelled out of the cell. These byproducts are usually toxic to the cell. Yeast, for example, generally cannot actively grow and multiply in ~16% or more ethanol solutions.

"kcal" stands for kilocalorie. A calorie is the amount of energy to raise 1 cubic centimeter (equal to 1 milliliter) 1 degree C at standard conditions. Knowing the free energy allows us to track and figure out the energy requirements for a cell.

The free energy is the energy that is in the bonds holding chemicals together.

Answer 11

yeah i have more or less learnt about that :3
i wish i had u as my teacher hh
lucky students! @mrdoldum

Answer 12

@somy Thanks. I grew up in a family of teachers. My father and his two brothers, my mother and one of her sisters, and a few cousins are all teachers. I have spent my life in schools. I am so use to it that I don't think of a "year" as January to December, but use a school year instead. So, to me the fall 2014 and spring 2015 semesters are the same year.

I think a lot of teachers forget to keep the core of what we are doing in mind. We are here to pass on knowledge. As such, I view it as my duty to do everything I can do to help a student understand something. With this in mind, if I know a student is working hard and I don't bother to fully explain something, then if the student misses points later on it, it is my failure, not the student's.

It is also my duty to make the info I convey and the questions I ask as clear and explicit as I can. If I give a muddled and ambiguous explanation and/or ask a question that is unclear or has unclear possible answers listed, how could I possibly hold the students to a higher standard? How could I possibly expect them to provide the correct answer, when I did not provide, at the very least, the opportunity for those students to know that clear, correct answer?

When it comes down to it though I do think a lot of teachers mean well, and do try. I know I have surprised a few students. I came down on one pretty hard that was complaining about how unacceptable her 15/30 on a paper was, even though I let her take it back and fix a couple major errors and the paper was very poorly written. I could tell she took it personally, as if I did not like her. Later, when she had to take time off for family illness, I offered to tudor her so she could catch up with the information she missed. She had to withdraw from the university with one month to go in the fall semester and was not able to come back until the middle of the spring.

I like to think I work pretty hard on here to get people to truly understand the info, not just get the correct answer.

Answer 13

@mrdoldum OMG T_T are u possibly the teacher version of me??????????????? Keep that up!! (I'll continue in pm) I personally think that its important to face failure, once u face it, u see your mistakes and errors, thus u can practice & eliminate them. Wasting time on thinking its personal :/ whats the use while u could use that time to PROVE yourself as you CAN do and WILL do much better next time! But well that depends on how strong is your willpower :3
In any case keep bein an awesome teacher!