Comparative Essay - Plants and Animal Systems

Plant/Animal Comparison

On this planet, there are many types of organisms. Many of these are plants and animals. Organisms must have certain essential systems in order to survive. However, how these systems uphold their structure between plants and animals is very diverseвЂ"even different animals have different structural systems, varying on the species quite greatly.

Structural Systems

The structural system of an animal is made of bones, quite commonly. It also may be made of cartilage, the material in the human ear. For example, sharks have a structural system made of cartilage rather than bone. Birds have bones, but they are hollow to allow the birds to fly. For the most part, the structure of an animal is the same, using

Plants often have a vascular base, allowing the plant to hold against gravity. Bryophytes have no vascular base, and are quite short due to the lack of vascular qualities. Vascular plants, such as anthophytes, are capable of holding a great amount of weight on the stem of the plant; enough structure to hold up a heavy flower or fruit, even.

Circulatory Systems

Animals have a beating heart, veins, and arteries tracing through every part of their body. If a vein or artery is cut off, such as when cutting off your circulation, it begins to feel tingly and starts throbbing. If one were to cut off their circulation long enough, it may even kill off the part of the body the bloodstream was supposed to run through. One of its functions is to carry oxygen from the lungs to the cells in the body, allowing the cells to perform cellular respiration.

The roots intake specific compounds from the soil, which are carried through the xylem to the leaves. There, they are used in the process of photosynthesis to create glucose as a source of energy. The glucose is carried throughout the plant through the phloem.

Food/Energy Processing

Food (meat, plants, etc) is eaten by the animal organisms, which chew the food to allow it to go through the esophagus. It is digested in the stomach, which has a layer of mucus to protect the organ walls from being digested by the acids within. It continues through the intestines until it exits the body through the rectum. During this process, essential vitamins, protein, and of the like are taken from the food. The only materials leaving the body are unable to be used by the body.

Plants mainly achieve the energy they need to function thorugh a process known as photosynthesis. Photosynthesis involves converting sunlight into energy. In reality, there is a complex interaction between organelles and compounds that cause this reaction. First, the sunlight hits the surface of a leaf and is taken to the electron transport train. Here it is combined with H2O, ADP and NADP, producing ATP and NADPH, which is taken to the Calvin cycle to produce an end product of glucose, as well as ADP and NADP which is then taken to restart the cycle.

Waste Removal

One of the final steps in the human body sends liquids through the kidneys. Kidneys maintain homeostasis by filtering and secreting minerals from the blood, and excreting them, along with water, as urine.

Plants release oxygen into the atmosphere as a form of waste removal. It essentially releases unwanted byproducts into the air.

Gas Exchange

Ð'¬Ð'¬Ð'¬Ð'¬Ð'¬Ð'¬Ð'¬Ð'¬Ð'¬Ð'¬As an animal breathes in air, the most essential gas present is oxygenвЂ"a highly explosive gas. There are other gases in the air which prevent spontaneous explosions from occurring, but oxygen is required for an animal to live. There