Cellular respiration and photosynthesis aid in making life possible. Although the goal of both cellular respiration and photosynthesis is to create useable energy for a cell the processes by which this is accomplished are opposites of one another. Being opposites of each other allows the processes to support each other in a way they otherwise wouldn’t be able to. Through the process of photosynthesis plants and other autotrophs are able to create products that can be used by heterptrophs in cellular respiration. Heterptrophs are then able to create products that can be use by photosynthesis. In this way photosynthesis and cellular respiration support each other and aid in making all life possible.
In photosynthesis H2O is taken from a cells environment and is used in the light dependent reactions of photosynthesis. The H2O molecule is broken down by enzymes in the thylakoid membrane of chloroplasts into 2 electrons, 2 H+ ion and one oxygen ion. Because the oxygen ion is no longer needed in the organism it is then “exhaled” into the organism’s environment. The electrons and H+ ions created by this reaction are then used to create ATP and NADPH. ATP and NADPH then travel to the Calvin Cycle of photosynthesis where they are used to turn carbon dioxide into high carbon sugars which are then stored as carbohydrates in the cell.
Both products created by photosynthesis, sugar and oxygen, can then be used to create usable energy in cellular respiration. In cellular respiration carbohydrates created by photosynthesis are taken from an organism’s food and are turned into glucose, a six carbon sugar. Glucose is broken down into two 3 carbon sugars call pyruvic acid. This pyruvic acid then enters the Krebs cycle where it is broken down even further. Oxygen combines with carbon to form carbon dioxide and FADH2 and NADH form which carry the high energy electrons produced by the breaking down of the pyruvic acid. The carbon dioxide which is no longer needed in...