Energy Movement

Important Terms:

  • The geosphere is made up of the solid parts of the earth including rocks or minerals. The geosphere at Karoo National Park includes a unique rock formation surrounding the park.

  • The hydrosphere includes all the water on Earth. A major water source running through Karoo is the Tankwa River.

  • The atmosphere includes all the gases (oxygen, etc.) that make up the earth.

  • The biosphere is the ecosystem of the earth. Karoo's biosphere is its large variety of plants or animals in the park.

The formula for cellular respiration: C6H12O6 + 6O2 --> 6CO2 + 6H2O + 36 or 38 ATP molecules

The formula for photosynthesis: 6CO2 + 6H2O ------> C6H12O6 + 6O2

During photosynthesis, energy from the sun is converted by a plant or autotroph to create glucose. The formula describes how 6 carbon dioxide molecules and 6 h20 (water) molecules are needed to create the product of glucose.

Cellular respiration is a process in the human body in which oxygen and nutrients are converted into ATP, which is energy. The formula describes how glucose (also the product of the photosynthesis) is converted into 6 water molecules and 36 ATP molecules.

These processes have the same outcome, or both result in the product of energy, but they are different because photosynthesis is for plants who create their own nutrients and cellular respiration takes place in bodies of organisms who cannot produce their own food. For example, when an oryx eats grass in the park, it then has part of that autotroph's glucose that was produced through photosynthesis. The oryx then converts the glucose back into energy through cellular respiration.