Jaylah and Simon are in the same classes at school. In their Science class, they read the following passage. Plants and animals need to be able to use food in order to survive. One of the processes used to break down molecules from food is called cellular respiration. When cellular respiration takes place, the overall reaction is represented by this chemical equation: C6H12O6 + 6O2 → 6CO2 + 6H2O. The substances on the left, glucose (a type of sugar) and oxygen gas, are the reactants needed for cellular respiration to take place. The substances on the right, carbon dioxide and water, are the substances produced by the reaction. If either one of the reactants is not available, the reaction can't proceed. When cellular respiration happens, glucose is broken down; in addition, some of the energy is used in a related process, and the energy storage molecule called ATP is produced. After class, Jaylah and Simon were discussing what they learned.. Jaylah asked Simon the following question, "If oxygen is removed from a plant's environment, what would you expect to happen to the plant's ability to break down glucose sugar and produce the energy molecule of ATP?"

Question

What is the correct response that Simon should give Jaylah? Read all possible answer choices carefully.

1 The plant's ability to break down glucose sugar and produce the energy molecule of ATP would not be affected because photosynthesis should occur normally.

2 The plant's ability to break down glucose sugar and produce the energy molecule of ATP would be affected because photosynthesis would not have a needed reactant to undergo all the chemical reactions.

3 The plant's ability to break down glucose sugar and produce the energy molecule of ATP would not be affected because cellular respiration should occur normally.

4 The plant's ability to break down glucose sugar and produce the energy molecule of ATP would be affected because cellular respiration would not have a needed reactant to undergo all the chemical reactions.

Answer 1

The correct response that Simon should give Jaylah is:

4 The plant's ability to break down glucose sugar and produce the energy molecule of ATP would be affected because cellular respiration would not have a needed reactant to undergo all the chemical reactions.

This is because oxygen is a necessary reactant for cellular respiration, and without it, the process cannot occur, which would impact the plant's ability to produce ATP from glucose.