Table of Contents
What is glucose broken down into during photosynthesis?
The process Within the plant cell, the water is oxidized, meaning it loses electrons, while the carbon dioxide is reduced, meaning it gains electrons. This transforms the water into oxygen and the carbon dioxide into glucose.
What happens to glucose and oxygen during photosynthesis?
In photosynthesis, solar energy is harvested as chemical energy in a process that converts water and carbon dioxide to glucose. Oxygen is released as a byproduct. In cellular respiration, oxygen is used to break down glucose, releasing chemical energy and heat in the process.
Does oxygen break down glucose?
With oxygen, organisms can break down glucose all the way to carbon dioxide. This releases enough energy to produce up to 38 ATP molecules. Thus, aerobic respiration releases much more energy than anaerobic respiration.
How does oxygen react with glucose?
Glucose reacts with molecular oxygen to produce carbon dioxide and water. The carbon atoms in glucose are oxidized. That is, they lose electron and go to a higher oxidation state.
Why does oxygen break down glucose?
If oxygen is present, then glucose can be broken all the way down into carbon dioxide and water. This process is called aerobic respiration because it requires air (oxygen). Because aerobic respiration breaks the sugar all the way down, it releases much more energy than fermentation.
What is the role of oxygen in this process?
In this equation, glucose and oxygen are the reactants, or starting materials. Water, carbon dioxide and ATP are the products. Water and carbon dioxide are considered waste products, as the cell does not need them. Cells perform cellular respiration to make ATP.
Where does the oxygen that is released during photosynthesis come from?
water
The oxygen released during photosynthesis is from the water. The plants will absorb water as well as carbon dioxide during photosynthesis. Later these water molecules are converted into oxygen and sugar. The oxygen is then released into the atmosphere whereas the sugar molecules are stored for energy.