Photosynthesis and Cell Respiration

At the bottom of every food chain are producers ... those organisms which make food from ingredients readily available in their
environment. Green plants are a good example ... they make their own food from sunlight.
Here are some words you need to be familiar with:

Photosynthesis is the process where green plants use sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water to make food and oxygen.

Respiration is the process where cells use this food to release stored energy.

Calvin Cycle: is a set of light independent redox reactions that occur during photosynthesis and carbon fixation to convert
carbon dioxide into the sugar glucose.

Photosystem: The light-dependent reactions use light energy to make two molecules needed for the next stage of
photosynthesis: the energy storage molecule ATP and the reduced electron carrier NADPH. In plants, the light reactions take
place in the thylakoid membranes of organelles called chloroplasts.

Photosystems, large complexes of proteins and pigments (light-absorbing molecules) that are optimized to harvest light, play a
key role in the light reactions. There are two types of photosystems: photosystem I (PSI) and photosystem II (PSII).

Both photosystems contain many pigments that help collect light energy, as well as a special pair of chlorophyll molecules found
at the core (reaction center) of the photosystem.

Plant cells contain chloroplasts. These little 'factories' within the plant cells use the compound chlorophyll to take the energy from
sunlight, and combine it with carbon dioxide and water ... to produce oxygen and glucose (a form of sugar). The chemical
equation describing this reaction, photosynthesis:

6CO2 + 6H2O + energy --> 6O2 + C6H12O6

This means that in each individual reaction, the chloroplast needs 6 carbon dioxide molecules and 6 water molecules, and also
some sunlight energy. From these it can manufacture, by breaking down the molecules and rearranging the individual atoms,
exactly 6 oxygen molecules and 1 glucose molecule. Notice that the glucose molecule is large, containing a total of 24 atoms. It
takes energy to create this big molecule, and this energy remains stored in the molecule until it is released in respiration. In this
way, energy can be moved from place to place.

Other 'factories' within the cell make use of the glucose molecule; these cell parts are called the mitochondria. Each
mitochondrion takes glucose, breaks it down into atoms, and by mixing it with the atoms from more oxygen, produces carbon
dioxide, water and energy ... energy in a form that can be used by all cells.
The chemical equation describing this reaction, cellular respiration, could be written this way:

6O2 + C6H12O6 --> 6H2O + 6CO2 + energy

This means that in each individual reaction, the mitochondrion needs 6 oxygen molecules
and a glucose molecule. From these, using the energy stored in the bonds of the glucose
molecule, it can produce 6 carbon dioxide molecules, 6 water molecules, and a new form of
energy.

Cellular respiration can use other molecules besides glucose, but it always results in
carbon dioxide, water, and energy. The energy produced in this way by the mitochondria is
in a form that can be easily utilized by all cells. This energy is stored by building a special
molecule called ATP, or adenosine triphosphate, in which the covalent bonds between
atoms (in particular, between the phosphate components of the molecule) store a lot of energy.

The other products of respiration, carbon dioxide and water, can be reused by the cells doing photosynthesis. The ATP is sent
out to the other cells in the organism to provide them with an energy source. This is particularly important for plants, because
they can't get new energy when the sun isn't out, so ATP also provides a way for them to store up energy supplies. The tissues
of the plant contain organic compounds (compounds made by a living organism), and all of these compounds contain some of
the ATP the plant has made. The plant then becomes a source of energy for other organisms ... consumers, like insects or cows,
which eat the plants. Incidentally, producers can make ATP by other means that don't involve photosynthesis, or even oxygen.
The process is called chemosynthesis. Bacteria, for example, can make ATP energy by combining inorganic compounds like
hydrogen, sulfur, ammonia, or hydrogen sulfide.

Cell Respiration
The process of respiration is split into 3 distinct areas that occur at different parts of the cell. Respiration involves the oxidation of
food (i.e. glucose) in order to create ATP. Respiration can occur with or without oxygen, aerobic and anaerobic respiration,
respectively.

Glycolysis
Glycolysis occurs in the cytoplasm of a cell where a 6 carbon glucose molecule (the broken down food that you ate earlier) is
broken down by enzymes into a 3 carbon pyruvic acid. The execution of this process requires 2 ATP, and produces 4 ATP, for a
net gain of 2 ATP. The enzymes involved remove hydrogen from the glucose (oxidation) where they take these hydrogen atoms
to the cytochrome system, explained soon. In anaerobic respiration, glucose is split into 2 molecules of pyruvic acid. When
oxygen is present, pyruvic is broken down into other carbon compounds in the Kreb's Cycle. When it is not present, the pyruvic
acid is broken down into lactic acid (or carbon dioxide and ethanol).

The Kreb's Cycle

When oxygen is present, respiration can harness more ATP from a single unit of glucose. The pyruvic acid from the glycolysis
stage diffuses into a cell organelle called a mitochondrion (pl. mitochondria). These mitochondria are sausage shaped structures
that host a large surface area for the respiration to occur on. The pyruvic acid is then subject to more enzymes which break it
down into a 2 carbon compound, as seen below. The diagram illustrates the Kreb's cycle, consisting of three main actions

● The carbon element is in a cycle where the 2 carbon compound derived from pyruvic acid binds with the 4 carbon
compound that is always present in the cycle.
● CO2 is released, where the oxygen that is present in aerobic respiration combines with carbon from the carbon
compounds which is released as CO2. Hence the need for animals to breath out and expel this CO 2.
● Enzymes oxidize the carbon compounds and transport the hydrogen atoms to the cytochrome system.

The Cytochrome System

The cytochrome system, also known as the hydrogen carrier system (or the electron transport system) are where the reduced
hydrogen carriers transport hydrogen atoms from the glycolysis and Kreb's cycle stages. The cytochrome system is found in the
many cristae of mitochondria, which are tiny stalked particles found on its outer layer. The system contains many 'hydrogen
acceptors' which hydrogen can be added to. By following the path of a hydrogen atom, we can see how the cytochrome system
works:

● Some coenzymes from earlier stages (we shall call these A) are transferred to the next coenzymes (refer to them as B).

● B is then oxidized, therefore the coenzyme releases the hydrogen and energy is made available.

● The released hydrogen atom binds with 2 oxygen atoms (oxygen is available in aerobic respiration) which produces
water, a by-product of respiration.

The diagram illustrates this flow of hydrogen within the cytochrome system and how energy is made available by the flow of
these atoms. The green circles illustrate where energy is made available via oxidation.
Overall there is a gain of 38 ATP from one molecule of glucose in aerobic respiration. The food that we eat provides glucose
required in respiration. In plants, energy is also acquired via respiration, but the mechanism of delivering glucose to the
respiration process is a little different.

Cell Respiration Questions Name:____________________________

Read the photosynthesis and cell respiration articles. Then, answer the questions below in the
space provided (in complete sentences).

1. Describe a relationship between cell respiration and photosynthesis.

Photosynthesis and cellular respiration are interconnected, with the products of one serving as the
reactants of the other, essentially forming a cycle that sustains life on Earth.

2. Explain why organisms need ATP when glucose is an energy source.

ATP stores and releases energy in smaller, more manageable quantities, making it ideal for powering
cellular processes.

3. How can organisms that live at the depths of the ocean, where there is no light and very little
oxygen, produce ATP? through chemosynthesis

4. What are the three stages of cellular respiration? Briefly describe each stage.
glycolysis (splitting glucose), the Krebs cycle (also known as the citric acid cycle), and the electron
transport chain
 5. Explain the difference between aerobic and anaerobic respiration in terms of the oxygen
requirement and energy production. Aerobic respiration requires oxygen and produces
significantly more ATP (energy) than anaerobic respiration, which occurs without oxygen and
generates less ATP.

6. Compare and contrast the Krebs cycle with the Calvin cycle, in terms of location and function.

The Krebs cycle (also known as the citric acid cycle) occurs in the mitochondria and breaks down
molecules to produce energy, while the Calvin cycle, part of photosynthesis, occurs in chloroplasts and
uses energy to convert carbon dioxide into glucose.

7. Compare and contrast the Cytochrome system with the photosystem, in terms of location and
function.

8. Which part of cellular respiration uses 2 ATP and produces 4 ATP per glucose molecule? Where
does this set of reactions occur in the cell?
photosystems (PSI and PSII) are membrane-bound complexes in the thylakoid membrane of
chloroplasts, capturing light energy and transferring electrons, while cytochromes, like cytochrome c, are
electron carriers in the mitochondrial intermembrane space, facilitating electron transport in cellular
respiration.

9. Which part of cellular respiration produces the most ATP? How does it work?

oxidative phosphorylation
 10. Which part of cellular respiration produces the most NADH? How many?

The Krebs cycle (also known as the citric acid cycle) produces the most NADH during cellular respiration,
specifically 6 molecules per glucose molecule.

11. How many ATP molecules are made from one Glucose molecule during cellular respiration?

During cellular respiration, one glucose molecule can theoretically produce up to 38 ATP molecules,
though the actual yield is often closer to 30-32 due to inefficiencies in the process.