Energy Movement

In photosynthesis, water, and carbon dioxide, with energy, are transformed into sugar (C₆H₁₂O₆ ) and oxygen. This process occurs in plants, and this is where we get a lot of our oxygen from. We also get energy, because the sugars are stored within the plants. Then, either animals eat the plants and we eat the animals, or we eat the plants directly. When applied to Gorongosa, an herbivore such as the waterbuck eats the grass, being andropogon gayanus of the poaceae family, and consumes sugars which are broken down and give that waterbuck energy.

In cellular respiration, sugar and oxygen are converted into carbon dioxide and water, and releases ATP, adenosine triphosphate, which is another form of energy. Cells use the sugar and oxygen to strengthen themselves and repair. A bird that just ate seeds from Gorongosa can there use that sugar and oxygen from the plants and air to fuel their cells which let it fly for a longer period of time.

With photosynthesis and cellular respiration, you can see that their processes are basically opposite of each other. The reactants of photosynthesis are the products of cellular respiration. The products of photosynthesis are the reactants of cellular respiration. They include the same materials, in the same amounts.