Respiration and Photosynthesis

What you do

• At dawn and dusk there is a point where the two exactly balance — the compensation point. Which column would each gas reading fall in then?

Challenges to clear

• Fill the Photosynthesis column correctly.
• Sort every statement.
• Fill the Respiration column — the process that never stops, day or night.

The task

Sort each statement into the process it describes.

What this lesson covers

• Photosynthesis: Builds glucose up from simple raw materials (It is anabolic — a building-up process.); Stores energy in chemical bonds (Light energy is trapped as chemical energy.); Takes in carbon dioxide, gives out oxygen (The gas exchange is the exact opposite of respiration.); Happens only in light (Light is the energy source, so no light means no photosynthesis.); Occurs only in cells containing chlorophyll (Chlorophyll is what absorbs the light.); Increases the dry weight of the plant (Organic matter is being made.)
• Respiration: Breaks glucose down (It is catabolic — a breaking-down process.); Releases energy as ATP (That stored energy is now made usable.); Takes in oxygen, gives out carbon dioxide (Oxygen is needed to oxidise the glucose fully.); Happens continuously, day and night (Cells need energy every moment they are alive.); Occurs in every living cell (Including roots, which have no chlorophyll at all.); Decreases the dry weight of the plant (Stored food is being consumed.)

Hint

They are chemically opposite, but they are NOT simply the reverse of each other — different sites, different enzymes, different steps.