Basic Concepts
In a nutshell: Cells transform energy through photosynthesis and cellular respiration, powering life’s processes.
## How Cells Get and Use Energy
Cells need energy to survive, grow, and divide. They get this energy through processes like photosynthesis and cellular respiration.
### Photosynthesis
Plants capture sunlight to make sugar and oxygen from carbon dioxide and water:
\[
6CO_2 + 6H_2O + light \rightarrow C_6H_{12}O_6 + 6O_2
\]
### Cellular Respiration
Both plants and animals use glucose and oxygen to release energy:
\[
C_6H_{12}O_6 + 6O_2 \rightarrow 6CO_2 + 6H_2O + \text{energy (ATP)}
\]
These processes are connected: plants make food, animals use it, and both cycle energy and matter.
### Why Should You Care?
These cellular energy processes are the reason you can blink, run, and even think! They're also at the core of issues like climate change and renewable energy research.
Examples
- Muscle cells use lots of mitochondria to generate energy during exercise.
- Cyanobacteria perform photosynthesis and produce much of the world’s oxygen.