What is the difference between photosynthesis and respiration?

In order for plants to perform their important functions, certain processes are required. Two of these are photosynthesis and cellular respiration. While the two have characteristics in common, there are many differences between them.

Photosynthesis is a process by which plants use light from the sun to make food. After the photosynthesis happens, then the cells in the plant use cellular respiration to turn this food into energy that the plant can actually use. Photosynthesis happens before respiration can.

Both involve a type of organelle inside the cells, but photosynthesis takes place inside the chloroplasts, which contain chlorophyll. Cellular respiration takes place inside the mitochondria, which are the organelles that are able to break down glucose.

In photosynthesis, the energy that is used comes from sunlight, which is converted into energy. In cellular respiration, the energy is taken from glucose and then transferred to ATP, also known as adenosine triphosphate or derived energy, for the organism to use.




Determine what part energy plays in both processes. Photosynthesis needs energy from the light in order to start the whole process. But in cellular respiration, energy is produced from the glucose that results in photosynthesis. In other words, photosynthesis needs energy to make glucose, while cellular respiration uses this glucose to actually create energy.






In scientific equations, photosynthesis takes carbon dioxide from the air, water and sunlight to create sugar. After this happens, oxygen is released back into the air. Cellular respiration takes these same sugars and combines them with oxygen to release the energy as ATP. Carbon dioxide and water are released due to this.