Photosynthesis Case

BIOLOGY

PHOTOSYNTHESIS

UNIT ONE INDIVIDUAL PROJECT

Casey Baker

2/19/2012

This paper is about the process of photosynthesis, light reactions, fermentation and enzymes, and how they work.

Photosynthesis is a metabolic process in which inorganic material is turned into the organic material with the help of sunlight and with use of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Photosynthesis gives out Oxygen as a byproduct.

Respiration in animals uses oxygen produced from the atmosphere produced by plants to generate energy in the metabolic process undergoing several stages. Respiration uses oxygen and gives back the carbon dioxide and hence forms the raw reactant for the plants to utilize again.

Hence both the process are the metabolic needs and are dependent on each other making energy available for both plants and animals as well.

Photosynthesis is a chemical process that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight. Photosynthesis occurs in plants, algae, and many species of bacteria, but not in archaea. Photosynthetic organisms are called photoautotrophs, since they can create their own food. In plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, photosynthesis uses carbon dioxide and water, releasing oxygen as a waste product. Photosynthesis is vital for all aerobic life on Earth. In addition to maintaining normal levels of oxygen in the atmosphere, photosynthesis is the source of energy for nearly all life on earth, either directly, through primary production, or indirectly, as the ultimate source of the energy in their food, the exceptions being chemoautotrophs that live in rocks or around deep sea hydrothermal vents. The rate of energy capture by photosynthesis is immense, approximately 100 terawatts, which is about six times larger than the power consumption of human civilization. As well as energy, photosynthesis is also the source of the carbon in all the organic compounds within organisms' bodies. In all, photosynthetic organisms convert around 100-115 petagrams of carbon into biomass per year

Aerobic respiration is a form of cellular respiration that requires oxygen in order to generate energy.

The process of generating energy by the full oxidation of nutrients through Krebs cycle where oxygen is the final electron acceptor.

Plants are responsible for incredible feats of molecular transformation. The processes are always being studied, but there are a few basic things that are well understood at this point in history. We will be looking at photosynthesis and respiration in some detail, as always; if you have additional questions please post them on the forum.

ATP, the body's biological energy, and how it is created. Cells store energy as potential energy in the bonds of a chemical called ATP (adenosine triphosphate). Note that "ATP" is not a chemical name/formula, but is an abbreviation for "adenosine triphosphate." This chemical is made of the nucleic acid adenine (also found in DNA) bonded to ribose, a 5-carbon sugar also found in DNA, to make the nucleoside adenosine. As in our DNA, when adenosine is bonded to a phosphate group (-O-PO3-3, often symbolized as, that makes adenosine monophosphate or "AMP." Thus, ATP is very similar to the building blocks for our DNA.

AMP may be joined to another phosphate group by dehydration synthesis to form adenosine diphosphate or "ADP." That, in turn, may be joined to a third phosphate group, again via dehydration