Cell Respiration and Photosynthesis Diagram

One plant cell, two organelles, and the loop that links photosynthesis to cellular respiration.

Cell Respiration and Photosynthesis Diagram

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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Chloroplast
  2. Mitochondrion
  3. Light energy
  4. Photosynthesis
  5. Glucose and oxygen
  6. Cellular respiration
  7. Carbon dioxide and water
  8. ATP

Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: photosynthesis in a leaf, step by step

All 8 parts on the diagram

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The organelles and processes 4

  1. Chloroplast Where photosynthesis happens. Plant cells and algae have chloroplasts.
  2. Mitochondrion Where cellular respiration is finished and most ATP is made. Plant and animal cells both have them.
  3. Photosynthesis It uses light energy, carbon dioxide and water. It makes glucose and gives off oxygen.
  4. Cellular respiration It uses glucose and oxygen. It makes ATP and gives off carbon dioxide and water.

What goes in and comes out 4

  1. Light energy The energy that drives photosynthesis. It ends up stored in glucose.
  2. Glucose and oxygen The products of photosynthesis. Cellular respiration uses both.
  3. Carbon dioxide and water The products of cellular respiration. Photosynthesis uses both as raw materials.
  4. ATP The energy carrier a cell can spend. Cellular respiration moves the energy of glucose into it.

How this list was compiled: Every name and step checked on 2026-10-01 against Nature Education, Scitable: Photosynthetic Cells (https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/photosynthetic-cells-14025371/); Wikipedia: Photosynthesis and Cellular respiration, text only; and Alberts and others, Molecular Biology of the Cell, 4th edition, chapter 14 (NCBI Bookshelf NBK26894 and NBK26819, archived copies). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

Photosynthesis and cellular respiration run in opposite directions, and a plant cell does both. This drawing shows the chloroplast, the mitochondrion and what moves from one to the other.

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Follow the arrows round the loop

Start at the sun. Light energy reaches the chloroplast, where photosynthesis uses it with carbon dioxide and water to make glucose and oxygen. Follow the top arrow: glucose and oxygen go to cellular respiration, which is finished in the mitochondrion. It moves the energy of glucose into ATP and gives off carbon dioxide and water. Follow the bottom arrow back: those are the raw materials of photosynthesis. So what one process gives off, the other takes in.

  • To draw the diagram yourself, press Print blank and fill in the boxes.
  • Typing one name of a pair, such as oxygen, counts.

Questions and answers

How are photosynthesis and cellular respiration related?

Each uses what the other makes. Photosynthesis takes in carbon dioxide and water and makes glucose and oxygen. Cellular respiration takes in glucose and oxygen and gives off carbon dioxide and water.

Where do photosynthesis and cellular respiration happen in a cell?

Photosynthesis happens in chloroplasts. Cellular respiration starts in the cytoplasm and is finished in mitochondria, where most of the ATP is made.

Do plant cells carry out cellular respiration?

Yes. Plant cells have mitochondria as well as chloroplasts. They make glucose by photosynthesis and break it down by cellular respiration to get ATP.

What are the equations for photosynthesis and cellular respiration?

Photosynthesis: 6 CO₂ + 6 H₂O + light energy → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6 O₂. Cellular respiration: C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6 O₂ → 6 CO₂ + 6 H₂O + energy. One is the other written backward.

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