What is the Difference Between Fermentation and Photosynthesis?

What is the difference between photosynthesis and cellular respiration?

• Answer:

  Basically, photosynthesis makes glucose molecules, but cellular respiration breaks them down. Chemically, photosynthesis turns CO2 and H2O into sugar, while respiration turns sugar back into CO2 and H2O. Photosynthesis involves the production of carbohydrates by plants, while cellular respiration is the use of carbohydrates by cells of plants and animals. (Plants also have mitochondria in their cells and have the ability to perform cellular respiration when there is no sunlight to perform photosynthesis.) Photosynthesis captures light energy and converts it to chemical energy while cellular respiration takes that chemical energy and breaks it down, releasing energy. The energy in photosynthesis is solar energy converted to chemical energy. The energy in cellular respiration is the stored chemical energy that originated from photosynthesis; this chemical energy is converted to other kinds of energy like heat and motion (energy required for cellular processes to occur.) Plants use carbon dioxide and water to make sugar and release oxygen as a byproduct. Animals use sugar and oxygen (the sugar from the digestive system and oxygen from the respiratory system) to create energy, and release carbon dioxide as waste. The following equations represent what happens in the two processes: Photosynthesis : 6CO2(6 carbon dioxide molecules) + 6H2O(6 water chemicals + energy --> 6O2(6 oxygen) + C6H12O6(sugar) Cellular Respiration (the reverse reaction): 6O2(6 oxygen) + C6H12O6(sugar) --> 6H2O(6 water) + 6CO2(6 carbon dioxide) + energy