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fatboy:
and I need to get my post count up.

I'm almost 60. Not yet but almost. Still work full time and do several other activities.

5 years ago I decided to take an algebra class at my local community college. For personal enrichment. After that I took another and then another. I haven't asked the college to transfer any of my undergrad credits from my previous college experience but I have earned enough credits that they want me to declare a major. So I decided to declare Biology AS. After this semester I need to take OChem 1& 2. College Trig, English comp 2 and a Biology elective (probably genetics) and I will get the degree and this without any debt. So it can be done.

This semester I'm taking General Biology 2. I took Biology 1 about 5 semesters ago. We are studying photosynthesis this week so I wanted to share the chemical equation because I need to memorize it and I need to write it many times to impress my brain.

6CO2 + 6H2O --> C6H12O6 + 6CO2

Thanks for your patience.

fatboy:
Oh and by the way, light is both a wave and a particle. I just knew you would enjoy knowing that.

fatboy:
Getting back to the equation above, plants need carbon atoms to produce glucose for energy. They get the carbon atom from the CO2 molecule. Without CO2 there would be no O2 which we need for our (cell) respiration.

If we eliminated CO2 then we would have in effect peak carbon. Just a matter of time before we run out of carbon.

fatboy:
6CO2 + H2O ---> C6H12O6 + 6CO2

The molecules to the left of the ---> are reactants, the molecules to the right of the ---> are the products.

In any combustion reaction, the products are CO2 + H2O + heat energy. This is how you can recognize a combustion reaction.

Notice that the products of a combustion reaction CO2 + H2O have good uses? Plants can use the CO2 to make O2 (for us to breath) and also water is produced (to water the plants).

As H2O (water) is a product of combustion, this is why you can sometimes see water coming out of a cars tail pipe or why it gets very humid when you run a kero heater in the garage.

1 more post to go. I need a cigar and a  :cheersmate:

fatboy:
If there is not enough Oxygen in the combustion reaction, there is an incomplete reaction and one of the products will be CO. That is 1 carbon and 1 oxygen. This is not good because there is an incomeplete (unfilled) valence shell in the CO molecule and the amount of energy needed to pull one of the electrons from another CO molecule to complete the valence is too great to overcome. Animals cannot use CO in respiration for the same reason, the forces needed to pull the oxygen atom from the carbon atom is too great. So when an animal is in an CO environment it gets carbon monoxide poisoning. There is oxygen in the environment but the animal cannot use the oxygen.

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