Biology / Unit 3 Bio 0610 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Photosynthesis and Respiration Are Linked, Not Opposed
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The idea
Photosynthesis consumes carbon dioxide and releases oxygen; respiration consumes oxygen and releases carbon dioxide — each process's output is the other's raw material.
In practice
Oxygen released by a plant's photosynthesis can be taken up by that plant's own mitochondria, or by any nearby aerobic organism.
Where people slip
Neither process's byproduct is waste — each is a substrate the other pathway depends on.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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