Interconnectedness Between Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration

Cellular Respiration and Function

Every living organism needs energy to survive since all cells require energy in order to perform the necessary biochemical reactions that sustain homeostasis within an organism. Cellular respiration and photosynthesis can be described as processes through which living organisms gain and utilize energy. However, photosynthesis is the process through which plant cell obtain and utilize energy from the sun and make it available to all living things. During this process, plants capture energy from the sun and transform it into chemical energy. Moreover, photosynthesis entails combining carbon dioxide and water into simple sugars like glucose through the use of energy from the sun (Editorial Board, 2012, p.51). In contrast, cellular respiration is the process through which cells are allowed to tap into the energy stored during photosynthesis. This process entails chemical reactions that break down glucose before converting it into a huge amount of ATP. The ATP is then utilized by cells to fuel their various processes.

As evident in this description, it seems that cellular respiration and photosynthesis are interconnected since they are interdependent processes. Actually, the processes of cellular respiration and photosynthesis are interdependent since each of them produces or generates what the other needs. During cellular respiration process, carbon dioxide is released into the Earth's atmosphere as a by-product. On the contrary, the process of photosynthesis is characterized by plants' absorption of carbon dioxide from the air while releasing oxygen. The interconnection between these two processes is evident in the fact that the by-products of one process are used as the ingredient to start the other's reaction. In essence, the by-products of photosynthesis are oxygen and glucose while those of cellular respiration are water and carbon dioxide. The process of photosynthesis utilizes the carbon dioxide and water produced by cellular respiration to generate glucose and oxygen. On the other hand, cellular respiration utilizes the glucose and oxygen produced by photosynthesis process to produce carbon dioxide and water.

The other evidence of the connectedness between cellular respiration and photosynthesis is that they use the electron transport chain, take place in the world's autotrophy, and are largely associated with energy. As a result, cellular respiration and photosynthesis use the same equation i.e. The products of photosynthesis are reactants in cellular respiration whereas the products of cellular respiration are reactants in the process of photosynthesis. With regards to the use of the electron transport chain, photosynthesis utilizes this chain for the transfer of the electrons to transform light energy into chemical energy for storage into ATP and NADPH. On the contrary, cellular respiration uses the transportation chain to generate ATP and release energy. Therefore, photosynthesis and cellular respiration work collaboratively as a single continuous or ongoing cycle.