Question

Which of the following is true about oxygen in plants? Oxygen is produced only for photosynthesis and is not used for any other purpose. Oxygen is stored in the plant for animals to consume and use for cellular respiration. Plants need to take in both carbon dioxide and oxygen for the process of photosynthesis. Plants both produce and use oxygen for photosynthesis and cellular respiration, respectively.

Answer 1

The answer is; Plants both produce and use oxygen for photosynthesis and cellular respiration, respectively.

Plants use the energy from the sun to split water molecules to H+ and O2-. The H+ is used to reduce carbon dioxide into glucose molecules. The oxygen is a byproduct that is evolved. However, the cellular respiration of plant cells is similar to that of other organisms on earth. They utilize oxygen to ‘burn’ glucose for energy.