Question

Connect the products of a chloroplast to the chemical "food" used by a mitochondrion. Help?

Answer 1

Chloroplasts produce glucose during photosynthesis, which is broken down into ATP by the mitochondria during cellular respiration.

Explanation:

Photosynthesis:
Photosynthesis is the process by which plants produce their "food." While humans, dogs, cats, and other animals consume plants and other animals for energy, plants use energy from the sun to make glucose, a type of sugar.

The "Recipe" for Photosynthesis:
If you have ever baked or cooked something, you know that it requires a recipe. For instance, recipe may require sugar, flour and eggs, that turn into delicious brownies when baked. Similarly, plants follow a chemical formula using ingredients (reactants) to form glucose, instead of brownies. Here it is:

A plant takes in carbon dioxide (`CO_2`) and water (`H_2O`), and using the sun's energy, turns these ingredients into the sugar glucose (`C_6H_12O_6`) and oxygen (`O_2`). Glucose, the product that we want to focus on in this question, is a sugar that the mitochondria organelles in our cells break down into energy.

Cellular Respiration and ATP
Remember how the chemical equation for photosynthesis was just a recipe to make glucose? Well, there's another chemical equation that humans use to break down THIS SAME GLUCOSE in our bodies. How exciting is that!
Do you recognize the first reactant (ingredient) in our formula? It's glucose, the very sugar that plants produce! When our bodies metabolize, or break down, glucose sugars into energy, the process above occurs in our cells. Glucose (`C_6H_12O_6`) combines with the oxygen (`O_2`) to produce energy in the form of ATP (adenosine triphosphate), forming byproducts of water and carbon dioxide as well. ATP is a molecule our cells use for energy, and is necessary for almost every function your body performs, from things like running and walking, to the energy required to blink.