Photosynthesis and Cell Respiration
There are several processes that take place here on Earth. Those procedures happen inside and outside of the body of living things. They can be helpful to sustain life or they can be harmful and cause illnesses. Plants produce food in the method called photosynthesis; on the other hand, animals and human beings consume and make use of the food made by plants in the process called cell respiration. Photosynthesis is the scheme or process where the green plants use carbon dioxide, sunlight and water to produce food and oxygen (Willis, 2001).
The word itself means “putting together with light. ” It transpires in the structure of plants referred to as chloroplasts which possess chlorophyll in them. The process of photosynthesis starts when chlorophyll absorbs and takes in the sunlight. From sunlight, the plants will combine carbon dioxide and water to produce sugar and oxygen (Oracle Think Quest Educational Foundation, n. d. ). Photosynthesis has two phases. The first stage is the Light Dependent Process or commonly known as the Light Reaction.
It occurs in the grana and needs direct energy of light to produce energy carrier molecules that are employed on the second process. This happens when the products of the Light Dependent Process are utilized to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates. The Dark Reaction, in contrast, happens in the stroma of the chloroplast and can frequently transpire in the absence of light if the energy carriers from the Light Reaction are present. The overall reaction of the process can be written in the subsequent equation:
6H20 + 6CO2 C6H1206 + 602 (Farabee, 2007). On the contrary, cell respiration is the course of action where cells utilize the food made by plants to release stored energy (Willis, 2001). It is the manner by which food is broken down by the body to make energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) molecules. It covers three stages namely glycolysis, Kreb Cycle and Electron Transport Chain (ETC) (Taylor, 2002). It begins in the cytoplasm of the cell and ends in mitochondria.
The process can be completed with and without the use of oxygen, aerobic and anaerobic respiration, respectively (Falk, 2001). The three differences between photosynthesis and cellular respiration revolve on the kind of living things and the parts of the cell where the processes happen, as well as the functions and stages of those mentioned course. If photosynthesis occurs only in plants, cellular respiration happens in both plants and animals. Photosynthesis takes place in the chloroplast; while cell respiration, on the other hand, begins in the cytoplasm and ends in mitochondrion.
If photosynthesis has two stages namely light and dark reaction; on the contrary, cellular respiration encompasses three phases namely glycolysis, Kreb cycle and Electron Transport Chain. Moreover, photosynthesis produces sugar and oxygen; while cellular respiration makes use of food and oxygen to produce energy called ATP. The importance of photosynthesis and cellular respiration is directly connected and related to life and to the survival of all creatures. If there is no photosynthesis, there will be no food and oxygen, the most vital aspects that every living thing needs in order to survive.
Photosynthesis produces sugar and converts the sugar into starch, fats and proteins (Oracle Think Quest Educational Foundation, n. d. ). On the other hand, cellular respiration is as essential as photosynthesis because it makes ATP, an energy that is used in chemical, mechanical and electrochemical cell work. Without it, the cell will not function, thus living things will die. Cellular respiration makes energy. It is one of the elements why living things grow because it is the “fuel” that is being utilized by living things (Farabee, 2007).
Photosynthesis and cellular respiration are two processes that happen inside the body parts of living things that regulate the life cycle on Earth. Without them, life is indeed impossible. References Falk, R. (2001). Cellular Respiration. University of Hamburg: Department of Biology. Retrieved March 12, 2009, from http://www. biologie. uni-hamburg. de/b-online/library/falk/Respiration/respiration. htm. Farabee, M. J. (2007). Photosynthesis. Estrella Mountain Community College. Retrieved March 12, 2009, from http://www. emc. maricopa.
edu/faculty/farabee/BIOBK/BioBookPS. html#Stages. Oracle Think Quest Educational Foundation. (n. d). Photosynthesis. Retrieved March 12, 2009, from http://library. thinkquest. org/3715/photo3. html. Taylor, W. (2002). Understanding Cellular Respiration. Essortment. Retrieved March 12, 2009, from http://www. essortment. com/all/cellularrespira_rmpr. htm. Willis, B. (2001). Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration. Worsley School. Retrieved March 12, 2009, from http://www. worsleyschool. net/science/files/photosynthesis/page. ht
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