Basic Knowledge
Earth is a biosphere that is able to produce and sustain life . The two basic systems are Plants and Animals in Earth's cycle of life , with plants giving out oxygen through photosynthesis and animals taking in oxygen with their lungs and exhaling carbon dioxide as a byproduct. Plants require carbon dioxide to live and flourish with their end-product again becoming oxygen. This balancing process of complementary systems is known as respiration and photosynthesis.
Respiration
As stated on TutorVista.com, "respiration can be broadly defined as the breakdown of organic compounds into simpler compounds accompanied by the release of energy in the form of ATP." This is the process we call, at the most basic level, "breathing." Plants and animals breathe, but animals, including humans, require plants to convert the energy of the sun into oxygen. Animal life receives oxygen molecules, and , after a process called internal respiration and cellular respiration takes place inside the animal or human body , exudes carbon dioxide molecules.
External Respiration
External respiration is the process wherein animal life receives air from the environment and in a gaseous exchange returns the air to the environment in another form. This gaseous exchange takes place in all life forms, from insects to fish to human beings to plants, including algae and fungus.
Internal RespirationInternal respiration is the distribution process in the body of an animal wherein oxygen is carried via the lungs and bloodstream throughout the body and broken down and converted into cellular energy.
Cellular Respiration
Cellular respiration is the conversion process that is initiated in the cytoplasm and finishes in the mitochondria, with the end product being carbon dioxide molecules. The cellular system is like a furnace burning energy, and the byproduct of that combustion is carbon dioxide. After being exuded into the atmosphere, that carbon dioxide becomes an element in the continuing process of photosynthesis .
Monday, August 2, 2010
Is photosynthesis really necessary to some plants?
We think that this is true for some plants. Such as the venus flytrap, The Venus Fly Trap is a very interesting example of a carniverous plant. Most plants get their nutrients from the soil, but the venus fly trap is able to get nutrients from the soil and any unfortunate insects that land in its trap. When an insect lands in the trap, the trap closes and the insect is slowly dissolved. The trap is held together by fingerlike cilia at its edges, making all but the smallest prisoner unable to escape.The ability of the trap to detect a victim and close is a mystery since venus fly traps do not have a nervous system of any sort. The generally accepted theory is that pressure on the trap creates an electrical potential, which triggers a change in fluid pressure to shut the trap.
Once closed, the trap proceeds to secrete digestive juices that dissolve the inside parts of the insect or other creature. The digestive process typically takes a week or two, after which the trap opens and expels the leftover exoskeleton, which cannot be fully digested.
Fun Facts!
•Tree resin which has been fossilized is known as amber, it sometimes contains plant material or small animals that were trapped inside.
•Some plants are carnivores, gaining nutrients by eating various small insects and spiders. A well known example of a carnivorous plant is the Venus Flytrap.
•Bamboo can be a fast growing plant, some types can grow almost a metre (3.28 feet) in just one day!
•While using energy from sunlight, plants turn carbon dioxide into food in a process called photosynthesis.
•Around 2000 different types of plants are used by humans to make food.
•Onions might taste good but they can be painful to chop. A gas is released when you cut onions that irritates you eyes, the tears you produce while this happens are your body’s way of washing it from your eyes.
•In the agricultural industry, to ensure crops of food grow well water is often added to soil in the form of irrigation.
•Plant matter found at the bottom of areas with water such as swamps can eventually turn into coal due to a process called metamorphosis (changing form).
•There are over 200,000 identified plant species and the list is growing all the time.
•Poison ivy produces a skin irritant called urushiol. Touching poison ivy will cause an allergic reaction, usually in the form of an itchy rash on the skin.
•Fertilizers are chemicals added to plants to help them grow. Important elements in fertilizers include nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Manure (animal waste) is also used as a fertilizer.
•Some plants are carnivores, gaining nutrients by eating various small insects and spiders. A well known example of a carnivorous plant is the Venus Flytrap.
•Bamboo can be a fast growing plant, some types can grow almost a metre (3.28 feet) in just one day!
•While using energy from sunlight, plants turn carbon dioxide into food in a process called photosynthesis.
•Around 2000 different types of plants are used by humans to make food.
•Onions might taste good but they can be painful to chop. A gas is released when you cut onions that irritates you eyes, the tears you produce while this happens are your body’s way of washing it from your eyes.
•In the agricultural industry, to ensure crops of food grow well water is often added to soil in the form of irrigation.
•Plant matter found at the bottom of areas with water such as swamps can eventually turn into coal due to a process called metamorphosis (changing form).
•There are over 200,000 identified plant species and the list is growing all the time.
•Poison ivy produces a skin irritant called urushiol. Touching poison ivy will cause an allergic reaction, usually in the form of an itchy rash on the skin.
•Fertilizers are chemicals added to plants to help them grow. Important elements in fertilizers include nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Manure (animal waste) is also used as a fertilizer.
Plants in the dark!?
Our initial theory: Plants can only photosynthesis in the presence of sunlight.
A better theory: Some plants can also photosynthesis without the presence of sunlight. In 2005, a team of scientists discovered the first organism that relies on photosynthesis yet lives in a part of the ocean that never gets sunlight.
For exmaple , a green sea slug living in the salt marshes of New England and Canada apparently have stolen the genes of algae they have eaten. They are the only know multicellular animal capable of producing chlorophyll. Consequently, they are able to survive months with just sunlight alone. They can even pass on this gene to their offspring, although the kids have to algae to get enough chloroplasts to start photosynthesis on their own
Animals derive energy through carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants through classic photosynthesis. As you exclude Algea and Fungi, I'm assuming that also means you leave out Corals, Mollusks (like Clams) etc. which harbor Algae in their tissue, allowing them to share nutrients directly with their host. That's called symbiotic photosynthesis and it's a 'cheat.'
We'll keep this clean.
In biology, we usually restrict Photosynthesis to the famous equation seen on blackboards across the world: 6H2O + 6CO2 ----------> C6H12O6+ 6O2 "Six water units plus six carbon dioxide units= One unit of sugar and some air" All thanks to that miracle pigment chlorophyll which converts light into energy.
Now, we know that only plants (and probably aliens if you believe bad sci-fis) contain chlorophyll. But what is Photosynthesis? Literally, the term means Photo=Light and Synthesis=Bringing together.
So, If you expand your understanding of photosynthesis and view it more generally as anything that uses light + substance to create a new substance, then things look different:
That's right, those fried eggs that gave Uncle Gerry his stroke and pacemaker could have been turned into vitamins if he'd been a surfer. (well, sort of...) Of course, if he was a vampire, it wouldn't have helped one bit.
To recap: Photosynthesis via Chlorophyll only exists in plants. But the photosynthesis of UV-B rays into Vitamin D (using Cholesterol) is a valid example of animal photosynthesis.
A better theory: Some plants can also photosynthesis without the presence of sunlight. In 2005, a team of scientists discovered the first organism that relies on photosynthesis yet lives in a part of the ocean that never gets sunlight.
For exmaple , a green sea slug living in the salt marshes of New England and Canada apparently have stolen the genes of algae they have eaten. They are the only know multicellular animal capable of producing chlorophyll. Consequently, they are able to survive months with just sunlight alone. They can even pass on this gene to their offspring, although the kids have to algae to get enough chloroplasts to start photosynthesis on their own
Animals derive energy through carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants through classic photosynthesis. As you exclude Algea and Fungi, I'm assuming that also means you leave out Corals, Mollusks (like Clams) etc. which harbor Algae in their tissue, allowing them to share nutrients directly with their host. That's called symbiotic photosynthesis and it's a 'cheat.'
We'll keep this clean.
In biology, we usually restrict Photosynthesis to the famous equation seen on blackboards across the world: 6H2O + 6CO2 ----------> C6H12O6+ 6O2 "Six water units plus six carbon dioxide units= One unit of sugar and some air" All thanks to that miracle pigment chlorophyll which converts light into energy.
Now, we know that only plants (and probably aliens if you believe bad sci-fis) contain chlorophyll. But what is Photosynthesis? Literally, the term means Photo=Light and Synthesis=Bringing together.
So, If you expand your understanding of photosynthesis and view it more generally as anything that uses light + substance to create a new substance, then things look different:
That's right, those fried eggs that gave Uncle Gerry his stroke and pacemaker could have been turned into vitamins if he'd been a surfer. (well, sort of...) Of course, if he was a vampire, it wouldn't have helped one bit.
To recap: Photosynthesis via Chlorophyll only exists in plants. But the photosynthesis of UV-B rays into Vitamin D (using Cholesterol) is a valid example of animal photosynthesis.
Chlorophyll and their uses
Chlorophyll is vital for photosynthesis, which allows plants to obtain energy from light.
Chlorophyll molecules are specifically arranged in and around photosystems that are embedded in the membranes of chloroplasts. In these complexes, chlorophyll serves two primary functions. The function of the vast majority of chlorophyll (up to several hundred molecules per photosystem) is to absorb light and transfer that light energy by resonance energy transfer to a specific chlorophyll pair in the reaction center of the photosystems. Because of chlorophyll’s selectivity regarding the wavelength of light it absorbs, areas of a leaf containing the molecule will appear green.Chlorophyll is the molecule that absorbs sunlight and uses its energy to synthesise carbohydrates from CO2 and water. This process is known as photosynthesis and is the basis for sustaining the life processes of all plants. Since animals and humans obtain their food supply by eating plants, photosynthesis can be said to be the source of our life also.The chlorophyll molecule is the active part that absorbs the sunlight, but just as with hemoglobin, in order to do its job (synthesising carbohydrates) it needs to be attached to the backbone of a very complicated protein. This protein may look haphazard in design, but it has exactly the correct structure to orient the chlorophyll molecules in the optimal position to enable them to react with nearby CO2 and H2O molecules in a very efficient manner. Several chlorophyll molecules are lurking inside this bacterial photoreceptor protein (right).
Chlorophyll molecules are specifically arranged in and around photosystems that are embedded in the membranes of chloroplasts. In these complexes, chlorophyll serves two primary functions. The function of the vast majority of chlorophyll (up to several hundred molecules per photosystem) is to absorb light and transfer that light energy by resonance energy transfer to a specific chlorophyll pair in the reaction center of the photosystems. Because of chlorophyll’s selectivity regarding the wavelength of light it absorbs, areas of a leaf containing the molecule will appear green.Chlorophyll is the molecule that absorbs sunlight and uses its energy to synthesise carbohydrates from CO2 and water. This process is known as photosynthesis and is the basis for sustaining the life processes of all plants. Since animals and humans obtain their food supply by eating plants, photosynthesis can be said to be the source of our life also.The chlorophyll molecule is the active part that absorbs the sunlight, but just as with hemoglobin, in order to do its job (synthesising carbohydrates) it needs to be attached to the backbone of a very complicated protein. This protein may look haphazard in design, but it has exactly the correct structure to orient the chlorophyll molecules in the optimal position to enable them to react with nearby CO2 and H2O molecules in a very efficient manner. Several chlorophyll molecules are lurking inside this bacterial photoreceptor protein (right).
Sunday, August 1, 2010
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