3.06 The Cell: Quest for Energy

It's good to be back at the camp. It was a long day and we'd better get dinner going before it gets much later. Anybody have a match? My matches are wet, and I can't get this grill lit.

Let's see... hmmm... the propane tank is turned on, the grill is on. It's finally lit! Great! Thanks for those matches.

Karwump!!!!

So much for my eyebrows! That was close!

In this activity you will: explain why living things need energy compare and contrast aerobic and anaerobic respiration summarize the process of photosynthesis compare the cycles of cellular respiration and photosynthesis

I didn't think so before, but I am wondering if this place really might be

... Especially now that I have singed all the hair off my face. There have just been too many accidents around here if you ask me. Right - no such thing as curses!

Do you know why Niles got his eyebrows burned? By leaving the gas on too long before he lit his grill, he allowed too much fuel to move into the air. Instead of a nice controlled lighting of his grill, he caused a small explosion to occur. Once the reaction was started, all propane outside of the burner was ready to immediately burn out of control.

Our cells are like this. That is, they "burn" fuel to release energy for work the cell needs to function properly. However, our cells must have a way to get energy and release it in an organized way.

Remember that the ultimate source of energy for living things is the sun. It takes the producers to convert energy from the sun into usable energy for living. Let's explore how cells, the living machines, can do this without exploding.

Move on to the BioVenture tab to continue this activity.