C3 plants are adapted to moderate temperatures and sunlight. C3 carbon fixation is the process used for most plants. In C3 carbon fixation, carbon dioxide first combines with a 3-carbon compound while in C4 carbon fixation, carbon dioxide first combines with a 4-carbon compound. Plant stomata are open during the day in both types of carbon fixation. In C3 plants, carbon fixation occurs throughout the leaf. The 4-carbon compound made in plants using C4 carbon fixation is used to deliver carbon dioxide to inner cells of the leaf.
Carbon fixation is the process in which plants remove the carbon from atmospheric carbon dioxide and turn it into organic molecules like carbohydrates.
Because different type of plants are located in regions with different conditions they are different types of carbon fixation. Plants that live in arid regions need to conserve water, while plants that live in more moist conditions will not need to conserve water.
The carbon fixation in C3 plants is one-step process. An oxidation reaction occurs because of the enzyme RuBisCo. During the oxidation some of the energy used in photosynthesis is lost in a process known as photorespiration.
Knowledge of the relationship between the size (volume) of cells and their surface area helps explain the process of diffusion. Agar blocks and cells with the largest surface area to volume ratio (the smaller cubes) have the highest diffusion rates.
