Cellular Respiration

Cellular respiration is the process by which cells breakdown sugar and release the energy it contains.

Cellular Respiration ≠ Breathing

Like photosynthesis, cellular respiration takes place in two stages:

1) In the cytoplasm:a) Glucose (sugar) is broken down into smaller

molecules, releasing a small amount of energy.

2) In the mitochondria:a) The smaller glucose molecules combine with

oxygen.

b) Carbon dioxide and water are produced.

c) This releases a large amount of energy.

Cellular Respiration Equation

The process of cellular respiration is represented by the following equation:

C6H12O6 + 6O2 6CO2 + 6H2O + Energy

sugar oxygen carbon water

dioxide

++

Photosynthesis and cellular respiration can be thought of as opposite processes:

Multicellular Organization

Multi-celled organisms have cells that are specialized to perform specific tasks

organization is as follows:

Cells → Tissues → Organs → Organ systems → Organisms