Do plants breathe?

[herpguy]

Do plants breathe?

 

I've heard that plants do because they exchange gases (O2 with CO2).

 

I've also heard that plants don't breathe because breathing is "the movement of muscles to exhange gases" and plants don't have muscles.

 

If anyone is a plant expert please tell me.

[Bluenoise]

The second is right, plants don't breath breathing involves the inhalation and exhalation of gases.

 

Plants do respire however.

 

The two words are not equivalent

[YT2095]

although they DO put us on a RESPIRator to help us breathe when we`re ill.

 

the difference is that our lung cells do the Respiration activity, the action to (inflate/deflate) and to make available the gasses needed and to eject those that are not is the Breathing part.

That uses Muscles to inflate/deflate the "bags" called lungs, plants rely soley on air currents and large surface areas (leaves) to do this "Breathing" for them

[BeYeu05]

The second is right' date=' plants don't breath breathing involves the inhalation and exhalation of gases.

 

Plants do [b']respire[/b] however.

 

The two words are not equivalent

 

Bluenoise may have been a little mistaken there with the word "respire". If that alone means gas exchange, then we are fine. But if you meant actual respiration, you'd need a mitochondria, which plants don't have.

 

Plants simply exchange gas during photosynthesis. Breathing is a complete different story.

[herpguy]

Bluenoise may have been a little mistaken there with the word "respire". If that alone means gas exchange, then we are fine. But if you meant actual respiration, you'd need a mitochondria, which plants don't have.

Actually, Blunoise is right. Mitochondria are in plant cells. How else will they get energy to grow?

Here is a plant cell model to show you what I mean.

From this website:

http://www.lclark.edu/~seavey/Bio151/lecture1.html

[ecoli]

Bluenoise may have been a little mistaken there with the word "respire". If that alone means gas exchange' date=' then we are fine. But if you meant actual respiration, you'd need a mitochondria, which plants don't have.

 

Plants simply exchange gas during photosynthesis. Breathing is a complete different story.[/quote']

 

wow... that's very wrong. http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/07710.html

[herpguy]

Respiration

In respiration' date=' plants (and animals) convert the sugars back into energy for growth and to energize life processes (metabolic processes). The chemical equation for respiration shows that the sugars from photosynthesis are combined with oxygen. Notice that the equation for respiration is the opposite of photosynthesis.

 

C6H12O6 + 6O2 6CO2 + 6H20 + energy [/quote']

...

[ecoli]

...

 

considering the incorrect information that was posted, I figured a simplier webstie was needed... unfortunately, I suppose that simplifying info too much is why the confusion was caused in the first place... I guess you just can't win.

[mantrid]

in summary

 

Plants and animals both carry out respiration but only plant carry out photosynthesis

Animals obtain oxygen for respiration and get rid of carbon dioxide from respiration by breathing (lungs)

Plants get rid of gasses from the leaves and into them by diffusion

 

Note I didnt say which gasses go in and out of the leaf as that would vary according to the light levels ie at night there would be a net movement of oxygen in and carbon dioxide out. In the day the reverse, as much more oxygen is being made than being used and much more carbon dioxide being used as being made (because of photosynthesis)

 

Some people recommend that you take plants out of the bedroom in the night as they take up oxygen, in some hospitals this is a policy! It is total nonsense of course because the amount of oxygen used by a plant is a tiny fraction of that used by a person, and you have no problem sharing a room with another person at night.