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In general outline, photosynthesis is the opposite of cellular respiration: while photosynthesis is a process of reduction of carbon dioxide to carbohydrates, cellular respiration is the oxidation of carbohydrates or other nutrients to carbon dioxide. Nutrients used in cellular respiration include carbohydrates, amino acids and fatty acids.
The reactions involved in respiration are catabolic reactions, which break large molecules into smaller ones, producing large amounts of energy (ATP). Respiration is one of the key ways a cell releases chemical energy to fuel cellular activity. The overall reaction occurs in a series of biochemical steps, some of which are redox reactions.
Cellular respiration happens when a cell takes glucose and oxygen and uses it to produce carbon dioxide, energy, and water. This transaction is important not only for the benefit of the cells, but for the carbon dioxide output provided, which is key in the process of photosynthesis .
The water-splitting reaction occurs on the lumenal side of the thylakoid membrane and is driven by the light energy captured by the photosystems. This oxidation of water conveniently produces the waste product O 2 that is vital for cellular respiration. The molecular oxygen formed by the reaction is released into the atmosphere.
Water is fundamental to both photosynthesis and respiration. Photosynthetic cells use the sun's energy to split off water's hydrogen from oxygen. [107] In the presence of sunlight, hydrogen is combined with CO 2 (absorbed from air or water) to form glucose and release oxygen. [108]
The scientist Charles Barnes first used the word 'photosynthesis' in 1893. This word is taken from two Greek words, photos, which means light, and synthesis, which in chemistry means making a substance by combining simpler substances. So, in the presence of light, synthesis of food is called 'photosynthesis'.
The antenna complex contains hundreds of chlorophyll molecules which funnel the excitation energy to the center of the photosystem. At the reaction center, the energy will be trapped and transferred to produce a high energy molecule. [2] The main function of PSII is to efficiently split water into oxygen molecules and protons.
The reaction for the aerobic respiration is essentially the reverse of photosynthesis, except that now there is a large release of chemical energy which is stored in ATP molecules (up to 38 ATP molecules are formed from one molecule of glucose and 6 O 2 molecules). The simplified version of this reaction is: C 6 H 12 O 6 + 6 O 2 → 6 CO 2 + 6 H