Why do Plants photosynthesis and RESPIRE? I thought respiration was a human thing?

Question

Humans respire for energy.

Plants photosynthesis for food and energy (i think.)

then why do they respire as well?

Answer 1

All living things respire.  It's the release of energy from food.  Photosynthesis is the opposite process, making food from energy.

Answer 2

Plants can only photosynthesize when light, carbon dioxide, chlorophyll and water are available.  At night when there is no light, a plant will go through respiration in order to produce the energy necessary to survive.  It is the same with some plants in the winter when they have no leaves (i.e. chlorophyll) that they must respire. Just for interest: A patient in the hospital will have all of his/her living plants removed from the room at night and brought back in the morning, because they will compete with the patient for oxygen.

Answer 3

All living organisms respire in order to release energy from glucose, well plants are no exception. They need to respire virtually all the time in order to supply their energy needs. Often, the respiration is masked by the fact that photosynthesis produces oxygen faster than respiration takes it up and photosynthesis uses carbon dioxide faster than respiration produces it. It is only in the dark that the full effects of respiration become apparent when photosynthesis is brought to a halt.

Answer 4

Respiration is the release of energy from glucose or other organic substances inside living cells. During respiration, sugar/starch, and oxygen is turned into carbon dioxide, water and energy. Every cell needs to respire in order to produce the energy it needs.

Photosynthesis is the conversion of light energy into chemical energy by living organisms. The raw materials are carbon dioxide and water; the energy source is sunlight; and the end-products are oxygen and (energy rich) carbohydrates, for example sucrose, glucose and starch.

I suspect your getting confused with respiration - breathing in humans?

Answer 5

All living things that break down sugars for energy (via respiration) respire.

Humans eat food (stored chemical energy) and respire to use that energy.

Plants make their own food by storing solar energy in an organic molecule.  If they just stored energy without using it, they'd die of starvation.  To make use of the food they've made, they must respire.

Answer 6

All living organisms must use energy.All living things respire in one way or another. Plants can get the energy from the sun, but they must get oxygen from the air to use the energy that they are able to convert through photosynthesis. They respire all the time, not just at night.