Final answer:
Respiration is a hydrolysis reaction because it involves the breaking down of glucose molecules, a process that consumes water, as opposed to dehydration synthesis, which releases water.
Step-by-step explanation:
Respiration is an example of a hydrolysis reaction, not a dehydration synthesis. During cellular respiration, glucose is broken down in the presence of oxygen to produce carbon dioxide, water, and energy (ATP). This process involves the breaking of bonds in glucose molecules, in which atoms are re-arranged and combined with oxygen to form water and carbon dioxide.
Unlike dehydration synthesis, which involves the joining of smaller molecules to form a larger molecule while releasing water, hydrolysis involves the breaking down of a large molecule into smaller ones with the consumption of water.
Therefore, while dehydration synthesis removes water to create new bonds in the formation of polymers, respiration involves breaking bonds through the addition of water (in cellular respiration's metabolic pathways), making it a hydrolytic process.