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Cell Respiration: Releasing Energy

Lesson Plan

Cell Respiration: Releasing Energy

Objectives

In this lesson, students will learn how living things obtain energy through cell respiration. Students will:

  • describe the process of cell respiration.

  • relate the structure of mitochondria to its function in cell respiration.

  • explain how organisms use the energy from cell respiration.

  • contrast the processes of cell respiration and photosynthesis.

Essential Questions

Vocabulary

  • Cell Respiration: The process by which cells use oxygen to break down food molecules and release their stored energy.

  • ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate): A high-energy molecule that cells use for processes such as growth and movement.

  • Mitochondria: The cell organelles where cell respiration takes place. Mitochondrion refers to just one and mitochondria is plural.

  • Glucose: Also known as blood sugar, a simple sugar broken down in cells to produce energy.

Duration

60 minutes/1–2 class periods

Prerequisite Skills

Prerequisite Skills haven't been entered into the lesson plan.

Materials

 

  • Cell Respiration Is the Opposite of Photosynthesis (S-7-8-3_Cell Respiration Is the Opposite of Photosynthesis.docx and S-7-8-3_Cell Respiration Is the Opposite of Photosynthesis KEY.docx)

  • Cell Respiration Vocabulary (S-7-8-3_Cell Respiration Vocabulary.docx) (optional)

  • computers with Internet access (optional)

  • a poster board with the equation for photosynthesis on one side and the equation for respiration on the opposite side (to be held up so that students know where to position themselves)

  • one piece of construction paper with a “+” on it

  • one piece of construction paper with an arrow to represent the yields sign

  • one piece of construction paper that reads “carbon dioxide”

  • one piece of construction paper that reads “water”

  • one piece of construction paper that reads “glucose”

  • one piece of construction paper that reads “oxygen”

  • one piece of construction paper that reads “energy”

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Formative Assessment

  • View
    • Throughout the lesson, assess student comprehension by asking questions about the function of cell respiration and the differences between cell respiration and photosynthesis.

    • Collect and review the Cell Respiration Is the Opposite of Photosynthesis handout.

Suggested Instructional Supports

  • View
    Scaffolding, Active Engagement, Modeling, Explicit Instruction
    W:

    Students relate the oxygen that is produced in photosynthesis to the process of respiration, in which oxygen is delivered to the cells of living things. Then, students compare the processes of cell respiration and photosynthesis.

    H:

    Students will access prior knowledge of photosynthesis and respiration (breathing) from the previous two lessons.

    E:

    Students will carry out a kinesthetic activity to compare cell respiration and photosynthesis and also conduct an interactive simulation of the two processes online.

    R:

    Students will reflect on the processes by considering why plants need to conduct both cell respiration and photosynthesis, and also by discussing why mitochondria are the cell’s “powerhouses.”

    E:

    Students express their understanding during the kinesthetic activity and also by completing the handout throughout the lesson.

    T:

    The vocabulary from the lesson can be reinforced with a matching activity. The lesson can be extended by having students research aerobic versus anaerobic respiration, or research the steps of aerobic respiration in detail.

    O:

    The lesson is organized so that students begin by accessing prior knowledge about photosynthesis and respiration (breathing). The two meanings of respiration are explained. Then, students learn about the process of cell respiration and compare it with photosynthesis.

Instructional Procedures

  • View

    Part 1: What is Cell Respiration?

    Begin the lesson with a review of the photosynthesis reaction. Distribute the handout Cell Respiration Is the Opposite of Photosynthesis (S-7-8-3_Cell Respiration Is the Opposite of Photosynthesis.docx and S-7-8-3_Cell Respiration Is the Opposite of Photosynthesis KEY.docx). Write the equation on the board and have students individually complete it in their notes:

     

    ____ + _____ → + _____ + _____ + _____

    Ask students why we need green plants (and other living things that carry out photosynthesis) for life on Earth. Elicit that green plants provide the oxygen we need in our bodies to release energy in cells.

    Explain that the term respiration has two different meanings in life science. First, respiration is breathing, the process by which an organism takes oxygen into its body and then releases carbon dioxide from its body. Second, respiration also refers to the chemical reactions within cells by which food is burned and converted into energy, carbon dioxide and water. To distinguish from the first meaning of respiration, this burning of foods is also called cell respiration.

    Ask students, “Why do we eat food?” When they answer that we need food for energy, explain that our bodies digest food and change it into glucose (a simple sugar molecule). The blood delivers glucose to our cells. In the cells, cell respiration is the process of combining the simple sugar glucose with oxygen to form the energy-rich compound adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Cells use ATP to carry out most of their functions, such as growing, producing new cell parts and chemicals, and moving compounds through cells and the whole body.

    Show students a diagram of a mitochondrion and tell them that this is where cell respiration takes place. On the handout, have students sketch the mitochondrion and label its parts (i.e., outer membrane, inner membrane, matrix, and cristae). Describe the process of aerobic cell respiration in the mitochondrion. Give an overview of the process, without going into detail about the specific reactions such as glycolysis and the electron transport chain. Have students write the reaction for cell respiration on the handout:

    C6H12O6 + O2 → CO2 + H2O + ATP

     

    Then, have students write out the reaction in sentence form:

    “Glucose combines with oxygen to yield carbon dioxide, water, and energy.”

     

    Part 2: Comparing Cell Respiration and Photosynthesis

    On the handout, have students work in pairs to complete the T-chart for photosynthesis and cell respiration and answer the question, “Why is cell respiration the opposite of photosynthesis?”

    If computers with Internet access are available, have students work in groups to do the Illuminating Photosynthesis interactive simulation (see Related Resources section), which illustrates the relationship between cell respiration and photosynthesis.

    Have students conduct the following kinesthetic activity to compare cell respiration and photosynthesis. Have seven volunteers stand side-by-side at the front of the classroom. Distribute the construction papers labeled with the reactants and products of cell respiration and photosynthesis. Display the Cell Respiration side of the poster board and have students help the volunteers arrange themselves in the correct order to show the reaction. Then, display the Photosynthesis side of the poster board and have students help the volunteers rearrange themselves in the correct order to show the reaction. Ask students what this demonstration is showing (i.e., that the processes are opposites). Alternatively, this activity can be done individually or in pairs at the students’ desks using index cards.

    Tell students that plant cells conduct both photosynthesis and cell respiration and ask them why plant cells need respiration, too.

    Conclude the lesson by asking students to explain why mitochondria are sometimes called the “powerhouses of the cell.”

    Extension:

    • For students who may need opportunities for additional learning, provide sentence strips that they can arrange to complete the T-chart on the handout. Also, provide students with the Cell Respiration Vocabulary handout (S-7-8-3_Cell Respiration Vocabulary.docx) at the beginning of the lesson.

    • Students who require an extra challenge can research the processes of aerobic and anaerobic cell respiration and create a Venn diagram to compare them. Alternatively, have them research the three steps of aerobic cellular respiration (i.e., glycolysis, Kreb’s citric acid cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation) and create a flow chart showing the process step-by-step.

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DRAFT 11/18/2010
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