Chapter 9, Problem 7TYU

Summary Introduction

Introduction: Botanists use C₃, C₄, and CAM (Crassulacean acid metabolism) as a method to classify Earth’s plants into different 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 release the CO₂ into the atmosphere. This process is entirely different from the photosynthesis process.