Final answer:
The statement is false; photosynthesis does not occur in animals but is limited to photoautotrophs such as plants, certain bacteria, and protists like algae. Animals do not have chloroplasts and cannot photosynthesize, hence they gain energy by consuming organic matter.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement 'Photosynthesis occurs both in plants and animals' is false. Photosynthesis is a process that is characteristic of photoautotrophs such as plants, some bacteria, and certain protists like algae. These organisms contain chlorophyll, a specialized pigment that captures energy from sunlight. Photosynthesis involves using carbon dioxide and water to produce glucose and oxygen, a process that takes place in chloroplasts within eukaryotic autotrophs, or within folded membranes in prokaryotes like cyanobacteria.
On the contrary, animal cells do not possess chloroplasts and hence are incapable of photosynthesis. They rely on consuming organic matter to obtain energy. The continuous energy cycle on Earth relies on the fact that animals, fungi, and non-photosynthetic protists obtain their energy by consuming or decomposing plants and other photosynthetic organisms. This interdependence highlights the central role of photosynthesis in sustaining life on our planet.
Plants and certain other organisms are also capable of cellular respiration, a process that occurs in the mitochondria parallel to photosynthesis, utilizing the oxygen and glucose generated to produce energy in the form of ATP, along with carbon dioxide and water as byproducts.