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Chemistry in the Environment:
Photosynthesis and Respiration: Energy for Life
- In respiration, energy-rich molecules of glucose are “burned” in a reaction that can be summarized as follows:
- Photosynthesis is the series of reactions by which green plants capture the energy of sunlight and store it as chemical energy in compounds such as glucose. Photosynthesis can be summarized as follows:
- The key process in respiration is the oxidation of carbon, and the key process in photosynthesis is the reduction of carbon.
- Oxidation and reduction reactions are at the very center of all life on Earth.