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ENERGY & RESPIRATION
Power sources available to you in Robot Constructor are petrol, battery and nuclear. There's another source of energy available to real-life robots which is shared by all living things. Energy from the sun.
Solar powered robots |
| Solar power can be a very useful source of energy for robots which have to operate in very remote locations. And they don't come much more remote than the surface of Mars. The Mars Sojourner collected solar energy from the sun and transferred it, using its photovoltaic cells, to electricity to power its motors and scientific equipment. |  |
 So, how do humans and animals get their energy from the sun?
 They get it from plants - either directly by eating plants themselves or indirectly by eating animals that eat plants.
How do plants get their energy?
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Green plants use the energy in sunlight to drive the chemical reaction between carbon dioxide and water to produce glucose and oxygen. This reaction is called photosynthesis. The energy stored in the glucose is then used by the plant to drive other chemical reactions which produce the complex molecules which the plant's leaves and stems etc is made of. Plants need energy to grow. Glucose is used as the fuel to provide this energy. As it reacts with oxygen, it produces carbon dioxide and water and releases energy. This process is called respiration. |
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So what happens to the plant once it's eaten by an animal?
Plants are made of large, complex organic molecules. When an animal eats a plant, these molecules are broken down and made soluble by the process of digestion. Digestion releases glucose, fats and proteins, these soluble molecules are absorbed into the bloodstream and taken to all cells. Here glucose reacts with oxygen, to release energy for the animal to live and grow. Sounds familiar? Well, it's respiration again - it's the same reaction as occurred in the cells of the plant. All living things respire but in animals, respiration provides the energy to carry out all living processes including the making of bones, skin and muscles.
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| POWER batteries petrol nuclear energy |
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