Respiration

Respiration is a chemical reaction that releases energy.

Animals need energy for:

  • Muscle Contraction
  • to maintain optimum body temperature for enzyme activity
  • For cell division, making new tissue to replace old damaged tissue or to enable growth​
  • To build up small molecules into large molecules e.g. amino acids back into proteins​

Plants need energy for:

  • For cell division, making new cells to enable growth​
  • To make amino acids from nitrates, sugars and other nutrients​
  • To build up small molecules into large molecules e.g. amino acids into proteins​