Read About Photosynthesis & Respiration

Photosynthesis Photosynthesis is the chemical process in which carbon dioxide and water combine using energy from the Sun to make sugar and oxygen. Photosynthesis is used by plants and other organisms, such as algae and cyanobacteria, to synthesize (make) their own food.

Cellular Respiration The chemical process in which stored energy is broken down so it can be used by an organism to survive when there is no food source available. Cellular respiration is a multi-step process with different amounts of energy being produced at each step. Both plants and animals go through cellular respiration to access and use stored energy.

These processes happen at the micro scale. The prefix micro is used to describe things that are too small to be seen. Microorganisms are living things that are too small to be seen, such as individual cyanobacteria and other phytoplankton. Microscopic objects refer to nonliving things we cannot see, such as atoms and individual molecules of water and gas.

Law of Conservation of Mass The law of conservation of mass is the principle that mass cannot be created or destroyed. Mass is cycled through and between different systems as it changes through chemical reactions. In photosynthesis and cellular respiration the number of atoms on both sides of the reaction is the same. The atoms are simply regrouped.

Careers in Science: Molecular Biologist A biologist is a scientist who studies living things. A molecular biologist studies the processes that make cells work, including the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration. Photosynthesis is a process that turns sunlight into chemical energy. Since humans need energy for everything we do, we can harness photosynthesis to make chemical or electrical energy. Many scientists are working on improving solar cells by learning from plants.