Wednesday, February 1, 2012

How long does it take for plants to turn CO2 into Oxygen?

If you were trapped in, lets say, an elevator with a common fern or some kind of green plant, would it be able to save your life by giving you oxygenated air?

How long does it take for plants to turn CO2 into Oxygen?
Ha. No, sorry. Your metabolic rate is much higher than the rate of the plant. The oxygen output /CO2 consumption of plants varies greatly by species and also by the amount of sunlight received, but it isn't much.

You may need a few trees in full sun inside the elevator to give yourself much of a chance.
Reply:First, plants don't turn CO2 into oxygen. Oxygen comes from the water the plant uses. Second, the elevator would not have enough light to allow much photosynthesis. Third, it would take many, many plants to make enough oxygen for a person.
Reply:Sorry, not nearly enough. Actually you and the fern would both probably be respiring CO2 into the elevator (a certain amount of light is needed for the plant to have a net carbon gain).



BTW, they turn CO2 into organic molecules, and they turn water into Oxygen (just as you do the opposite: you turn organic molecules into CO2 and turn Oxygen into water).


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