Respiration
What is respiration?
- Respiration and photosynthesis can be described as processes with inputs, outputs, and transformations of energy and matter
- Respiration is the conversion of organic matter into carbon dioxide and water in all living organisms, releasing energy
- Aerobic respiration can be simply described as: glucose + oxygen → carbon dioxide + water
Aerobic respiration
- Inputs: organic matter (glucose) and oxygen
- Processes: oxidation processes inside cells
- Outputs: release of energy for work and heat
- Transformations: stored chemical energy is transformed into kinetic energy and heat
- During respiration, large amounts of energy are dissipated as heat, increasing the entropy in the ecosystem while enabling the organisms to maintain relatively low entropy/high organisation
