Photosynthesis Power
What gas do plants take in for photosynthesis?
What is carbon dioxide (CO₂)?
What process releases carbon dioxide back into the air or water?
What is cellular respiration?
When do plants take in carbon?
Only during photosynthesis (in light).
What do energy storage molecules contain?
Carbon
What is the only thing that can enter or leave a sealed ecosystem?
Light
What do plants RELEASE during photosynthesis?
What is oxygen?
True or False: Only animals do cellular respiration.
False — all living things do it.
When do organisms release carbon?
During cellular respiration (day & night).
During which process are energy storage molecules built?
Photosynthesis
If a sealed system is in light, which process can happen?
Photosynthesis.
What happens to the number of energy storage molecules when plants are in sunlight?
They increase.
When do living things do cellular respiration?
Day and night./All Day
During the daytime, carbon is…
Moving both in and out of the air.
During which process are energy storage molecules broken down?
Cellular Respiration
If carbon in a sealed container is increasing, what does that mean?
Respiration is happening (not enough light).
Why does the amount of carbon in a plant increase during photosynthesis?
Because plants build energy storage molecules that contain carbon.
What happens to energy storage molecules during respiration?
They are broken down to release energy.
At night, is carbon moving into the air, out of the air, or both?
Only out (organisms release carbon through respiration).
If energy storage molecules decrease in a plant, what happens to the plant’s carbon?
It decreases.
If carbon in a sealed container is decreasing, what does that mean?
Plants are doing photosynthesis and taking in carbon.
Name two examples of organisms that do photosynthesis in sunlight.
Trees, plants, sea kelp, seaweed, flowers, algae...
Why do plants release carbon at night?
Because they still do respiration but cannot do photosynthesis without light.
Explain why carbon levels rise in an ecosystem at night.
No photosynthesis happens, so organisms only release carbon
Why do humans get carbon from plants?
Plants make energy storage molecules, and humans eat plants (or animals that ate plants).
A space station is kept in complete darkness. Predict what happens to CO₂ levels and explain why.
CO₂ increases because only respiration can happen.