ABSTRACT

Without energy, there is no life. Hence, the concept of energy is central for learning biology at school. Photosynthesis and respiration are the two fundamental, complementary biological processes that describe the fixation, processing, and release of energy, interwoven with the synthesis and decomposition of organic matter. These processes are highly complex, abstract, and relate to different system levels, which makes them very difficult to learn. Accordingly, many misconceptions exist that must be considered in teaching. These misconceptions are outlined at the beginning of the chapter. From here we explore difficulties in learning, propose conceptualization of the three concepts and provide some recommendations for teaching energy, photosynthesis, and respiration in biology, referring to findings from empirical science education research.