Social Studies Connection
Photosynthesis
The impact of physical geography on photosynthesis is interesting because it changes at different temperatures, locations and elevations.
Photosynthesis works the most efficiently at a certain point. High temperatures cause increase cell respiration sometimes above the rate of photosynthesis, the products of photosynthesis are being used more rapidly than produced. For growth to occur, photosynthesis must be greater than respiration. Photosynthesis slows at low temperatures. Enzymes work optimally within a limited temperature range, between 0 and 50 degrees celsius.
As Dr. Claudia Gutierrez-Mazzotti from the UCSB ScienceLine Laboratory explained, “During cellular respiration, the chemical energy in the glucose molecule is converted into a form that the plant can use for growth and reproduction. In the first step of respiration, called glycolysis, the glucose molecule is broken down into two smaller molecules called pyruvate, and a little energy is released in the form of ATP. This step in respiration does not require any oxygen.”
The physical geography is important to photosynthesis because depending on the location and what landforms are nearby, will decide how much sun that the plant will get, and for how long, and if the plant has an easy access to water, if the plant doesn’t have enough of the necessary reactants, or none at all, photosynthesis and cell respiration will slow and/or
the plant will die.
If the elevation is too high and there isn’t a lot of oxygen in the air, then the plant can die from lack of reactants to make photosynthesis.
Citations-
Temperature Effect on Plants, Prepared by: Erv Evans
How are respiration and photosynthesis related?, Author: Dr. Claudia Gutierrez-Mazzotti
Photosynthesis- the process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize food. In Photosynthesis, plants and other organisms convert light energy into chemical energy that can be used to fuel the organisms' activities. Carbohydrates, such as sugars, are synthesized from carbon dioxide and water.
The general equation for photosynthesis is; carbon dioxide + water =light energy=> glucose + oxygen (6CO2 + 6H2O =light energy=> C6H12O6 + 6O2).
Photosynthetic organisms are photoautotrophs, which means that they are able to synthesize food directly from carbon dioxide and water using energy from light. However, not all organisms that use light as a source of energy carry out photosynthesis, since photoheterotrophs use organic compounds, rather than carbon dioxide, as a source of carbon.[4] In plants, algae and cyanobacteria, photosynthesis releases oxygen. This is called oxygenic photosynthesis. Although there are some differences between oxygenic photosynthesis in plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, the overall process is quite similar in these organisms. However, there are some types of bacteria that carry out anoxygenic photosynthesis, which consumes carbon dioxide but does not release oxygen.
Carbon dioxide is converted into sugars in a process called carbon fixation. Carbon fixation is an endothermic redox reaction, so photosynthesis needs to supply both a source of energy to drive this process, and the electrons needed to convert carbon dioxide into a carbohydrate. This addition of the electrons is a reduction reaction. In general outline and in effect, photosynthesis is the opposite of cellular respiration, in which glucose and other compounds are oxidized to produce carbon dioxide and water, and to release exothermic chemical energy to drive the organism's metabolism. However, the two processes take place through a different sequence of chemical reactions and in different cellular compartments.
Although some of the steps in photosynthesis are still not completely understood, the overall photosynthetic equation has been known since the 19th century.