Raw Fossil Energy

How is the burning of fossil fuels similar to and different from the process of respiration?

How is the burning of fossil fuels similar to and different from the process of respiration? I've got a big test tomorrow and would really love the help.

Public Comments

1. To get the difference, we have to get the whole “carbon cycle”. Let's start with plants. They take in water (H2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) and splice a whole bunch of them using photosynthesis together to form glucose. (C6H12O6) and oxygen. (O2) Animals, like us, then eat the plant and absorb the glucose. Then, when we breath, the respiration you asked about breaks down the glucose and the oxygen we breathe back into carbon dioxide and water, and produces some ATP to boot. So, because those carbon atoms come from the air and go right back to it, only to be used again by plants, it can be said that respiration is “carbon neutral”. Fossil fuels come from deep in the ground, where all the carbon was trapped. So when you burn it, turning oxygen and a hydrocarbon into carbon dioxide and water, “new” carbons are added to the system. While technically they were always there, it's their sudden introduction in the last century which is could be the cause of an ecological impact, though this is debatable. But the point is, burning fossil fuels is a process of combustion, which is not carbon neutral, whereas respiration is its own process, and is carbon neutral.
2. they are both involved in gas exchange...