My mom and I are growing a garden. We planted our garden in May and it is now August. We watered the garden every day together. In our garden we have corn, tomatoes, and pinto beans. My pinto beans are looking very plump and are ready to be picked. Pinto beans usually take 90 to 150 days to grow.

I asked my mom how do plants grow? She said that plants grow when photosynthesis and cellular respiration take place. During photosynthesis, a plant converts energy from the sun into a chemical form. The plant consumes water, carbon dioxide, and light energy. From these reactants it produces glucose and oxygen. The photosynthetic equation is 6CO2+6H20-C6H1206+602.

The next step in the growth of a plant is cellular respiration. Cellular respiration has three steps. The first step is glycolysis, in glycolysis glucose is broken down into two smaller pyruvate molecules. The second step is the kreb cycle, in the kreb cycle the pyruvates are rearranged and carbon dioxide is produced. The final step is the electron transport chain. In this step carbon dixoide, water, and ATP molecules are all produced. From this process there are usally 36 to 38 ATP molecules made, 2 CO2 molecules are made, and 24 H20 molecules are made.

The next day when my mom and I checked the garden she noticed how big the pinto beans have gotten. She asked to me to pick a few so she could check to if they were to eat. Mom said they looked ready and she said that she would make beans and rice for dinner. i was happy to help my mom pick the beans for dinner.

I ate all of my beans and rice for dinner and now my stomach is full because cooked beans contain complex carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates are absorbed quickly by your body and converted into energy. Before being absorbed by your body they must be broken down into simple sugars by digestive enzymes in your stomach. However not all of the complex carbohydrates can be broken down by the enzymes. The ones that can't be broken down go from your stomach to your intestines where they are fermented by the bacteria in your digestive system. Gas is produced during this process. This is why you pass gas when you eat beans.

Wow, I didn't know all this happened when you planted a garden. Without plants to provide us with the air we breathe and the food we eat, the cycle of life as we know it would not exist. I learned how photosynthesis and cellular respiration help plants grow and help the environment. I also learned how my body processes the pinto beans I ate and gives me energy. Next year Mom and I will grow an even bigger garden. Thanks for listening guys, you are all invited back next year to see our bigger garden.