Last week was photosynthesis.
This week it’s the ‘and what happens then’ - Respiration – which is easier to understand when referred to by its longer title of cellular respiration (as the muddle with ‘and how does it relate to breathing’ doesn’t then need to be had).
As with photosynthesis, respiration is a process which takes place in the cells of the plant. But unlike photosynthesis, it’s not limited to one group of cells, instead it’s all living cells, of all tissues. And it’s a continuous process, taking place in darkness and in light.
The exact spot within a cell is within an organelle – the Mitochondria.
Photosynthesis creates food. Cellular respiration extracts the energy from this food. The plant uses energy for production and to fuel certain activities; the production of structural substances such as cellulose, proteins to form enzymes and the fuelling of activities such as cell division and chemical reactions which occur within the cells themselves.
The process itself involves the oxidisation of sugars; the combination of the food sugars with oxygen. The sugars are broken down, resulting in the release of energy and carbon dioxide and water as by products.
So sort of the opposite of photosynthesis…. and at the same time… a virtuous circle….
