Photosynthesis of carbon dioxide to carbohydrate, cellular respiration is the oxidation of carbohydrate or other nutrients to carbon dioxide. Nutrients used in cellular respiration include carbohydrates, amino acids and fatty acids. These nutrients are oxidized to produce carbon dioxide and water, and to release chemical energy to drive the organism's metabolism. Photosynthesis and cellular respiration are distinct processes, as they take place through different sequences of chemical reactions and in different cellular compartments. The general equation for photosynthesis as first proposed by Cornelis van Niel is therefore: Since water is used as the electron donor in oxygenic photosynthesis, the equation for
Photosynthesis the net photosynthetic rates ranged from 10 to 13 μmol CO·m·s, with the conclusion that all terrestrial plants having the same photosynthetic capacities that were light saturated at less than 50% of sunlight. Later in 1958-1963 at Cornell University, field grown maize was reported to have much greater leaf photosynthetic rates of 40 μmol CO·m·s and was not saturated at near full sunlight. This higher rate in maize was almost double those observed in other species such as wheat and soybean, indicating that large differences in photosynthesis exist among higher plants. At the University of Arizona, detailed gas exchange research