Chapter 19, Problem 43CQ

Summary Introduction

To determine: The reason why the C₄ plant thrives but the C₃ plant sickens and eventually dies when both the plants are placed together in a sealed illuminated box.

Concept introduction: Botanists use C₃, C₄, and CAM as a method to classify Earth’s plants into categories; this refers to the number of first carbon compounds to which the CO₂ is fixed. The majority of land plants use the C₃ pathway. In higher plants, certain respiratory processes take place where the plants’ uptake oxygen in the presence of sunlight and releases CO₂ into the atmosphere. This process is entirely different from the photosynthesis process.