Question

You are a carbon dioxide molecule floating in the air that is about to enter the stomata of a leaf. Tell the story of your adventure through photosynthesis in the leaf, and then through cellular respiration after the plant is consumed by a rabbit.

Answer 1

A CO2 molecule found a friendly stomata on the bottom of a leaf. As the sun rose, the leaf's cells opened up to let the molecule in through the stoma. Soon, it was moving around inside with other CO2 and water molecules. Soon, the plant--powered by the sun--began re-assembling the molecule into new forms, adding and subtracting bits with other molecules, to make sweet glucose and release oxygen into the air. A curious rabbit couldn't resist a few nibbles of the sweet leaves with their glucose, and soon the CO2 molecule, in its new form as glucose, was inside the bunny's belly, being converted into energy.