Compare And Contrast Photosynthesis And Cellular Respiration

Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration Tic Tac Toe Pietro Elie

Photosynthesis is how the world gets the majority of its oxygen; cellular respiration is what gives the cell the oxygen needed for food conversion and helps expel waste products from the cell. Without one of those processes, there would be no life on earth. In this essay, I will examine the process of oxygenic photosynthesis and explain the three steps of cellular respiration. I will compare and contrast the two, and finally, I will explain which process is more important.

Photosynthesis is the process by which solar energy is converted into food for the plant and oxygen for the world. There are two types of photosynthesis: oxygenic and anoxygenic

Oxygenic photosynthesis is what helps the earth survive, as without it, the earth’s supply of oxygen would have depleted very quickly! Cellular respiration is the process by which stored energy is converted to adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a chemical food used by all cells, using catabolic reactions. Cellular respiration occurs in both plant and animal cells as well as eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. It happens in three stages: glycolysis, the citric acid (or Krebs) cycle, and electron transport. In glycolysis, the energy within sugars is released. Glucose, which is a six-carbon sugar, is divided into two molecules of pyruvate, a three-carbon sugar. This process also makes two ATP molecules and two molecules of NADH, a protein that carries electrons. Glycolysis can work with or without oxygen. The second stage of cellular respiration is the Krebs cycle, which occurs in the mitochondria. In the beginning of the Krebs cycle, the pyruvate made in glycolysis is oxidized and turned into acetyl-CoA. Then, the two-carbon acetyl-CoA combines with oxaloacetate, a 4-carbon molecule, to form citrate, a 6-carbon molecule. Citrate then releases two of