Final answer:
Aerobic respiration provides the greatest yield of ATP for the body's life processes, outperforming other processes like fermentation, photosynthesis, and anaerobic respiration.
Step-by-step explanation:
The process that provides the greatest yield of ATP for life processes in the body is c. aerobic respiration. This process outcompetes fermentation (both alcoholic and lactic acid fermentation), photosynthesis, and anaerobic respiration in terms of ATP production. Aerobic cellular respiration includes Glycolysis, the Transformation of Pyruvate, Krebs Cycle, and Oxidative phosphorylation, where glucose and oxygen react to form carbon dioxide and water, producing ATP.
Fermentation and anaerobic respiration are anaerobic processes that do not require oxygen for ATP production. Glycolysis is the shared process between aerobic cellular respiration and fermentation. However, in aerobic respiration, after glycolysis, the pyruvate undergoes further processing in Krebs Cycle and Electron Transport Chain, greatly increasing the ATP yield.
Photosynthesis does produce some ATP directly but it primarily serves as a means to capture energy from the sun and produce glucose and oxygen. Aerobic respiration can then use those products to generate a high amount of ATP. Even though photosynthesis is essential for the creation of glucose, it is aerobic respiration that harnesses this glucose to produce the most ATP for the cell's needs.