Cellular Respiration (Metabolism) Collection of chemical reactions that takes place in the body's cells to convert the fuel in the food we eat into the energy needed to power everything we do Autotroph. If you’re studying the life cycles of living organisms, you’ve come to the right place. We break down the processes of everything from bacteria to blue whales.
Cellular Respiration Microorganisms such as cyanobacteria can trap the energy in sunlight through the process of photosynthesis and store it in the chemical bonds of carbohydrate molecules. The principal carbohydrate formed in photosynthesis is glucose. Other types of microorganisms such as nonphotosynthetic bacteria, fungi, and protozoa are unable to perform this process. Therefore, these organisms must rely upon preformed carbohydrates in the environment to obtain the energy necessary for their metabolic processes. Cellular respiration is the process by which microorganisms obtain the energy available in carbohydrates. They take the carbohydrates into their cytoplasm, and through a complex series of metabolic processes, they break down the carbohydrate and release the energy.
The energy is generally not needed immediately, so it is used to combine ADP with phosphate ions to form ATP molecules. During the process of cellular respiration, carbon dioxide is given off as a waste product. This carbon dioxide can be used by photosynthesizing cells to form new carbohydrates. Also in the process of cellular respiration, oxygen gas is required to serve as an acceptor of electrons.
This oxygen gas is identical to the oxygen gas given off in photosynthesis.
What is metabolism? All living things must have an unceasing supply of energy and matter.
The transformation of this energy and matter within the body is called metabolism. Metabolism includes two different types: catabolism and anabolism. Catabolism is destructive metabolism. Typically, in catabolism, larger organic molecules are broken down into smaller constituents.
This usually occurs with the release of energy. Anabolism is constructive metabolism.
Typically, in anabolism, small precursor molecules are assembled into larger organic molecules. This always requires the input of energy. Anabolism and catabolism Pathways Anabolism is the synthesis of complex molecules from precursors. This includes synthesis of proteins, carbohydrates, nucleic acids and lipids, usually from their building block monomers. Catabolism is the breakdown of complex molecules into smaller precursors from which they are synthesized. It is a reversed process of anabolism.
When cells have excess resources such as food and extra energy, anabolism occurs to store unused nutrients for later use. When cells are deficient for food or energy, catabolism occurs to break down the stored nutrients for the body to use. Energetics of biological Reactions Biological energy is the capacity to run biochemical reactions to enable the cells to do their work. Free energy (G) relates temperature, enthalpy and entropy. Free energy is used to determine if the reaction is spontaneous at a specific temperature. Determining spontaneity of a process Free energy describes whether a reaction will occur spontaneously. The First Law of Thermodynamics states that energy is conserved: energy can neither be created nor destroyed.
The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that the work produced from a given energy can never be 100% efficient. In metabolism, reactions which are spontaneous are favorable because these run automatically and release free energy. Every reaction has an activation energy, which describes an energy barrier that is overcome every time the reaction occurs. Most of the reactions in the cell require enzymes. Enzymes are proteins to speed up reactions by grabbing onto reactants to bring them closer together.
Reactants which are closer together can reach activation energy more easily. Thus, enzymes lower activation energy and speed up the reaction. ATP ATP is the energy currency of all cells. Most of the reactions in the cell require ATP. ATP is energy rich. When the energy is used by a reaction, ATP breaks up into ADP and Pi.
In order to use the energy again, ADP and Pi must be changed back into ATP. This requires energy. Non-spontaneous reactions requires energy, and this is often done by coupling this reaction with an ATP breaking down reaction, the combined free energy will be negative and therefore enables the overall reaction. Cellular Respiration Cellular respiration is a series of metabolic processes which all living cells use to produce energy in the form of ATP. In cellular respiration, the cell breaks down glucose to produce large amounts of energy in the form of ATP. Cellular respiration can take two paths: aerobic respiration or anaerobic respiration.
Aerobic respiration occurs when oxygen is available, whereas anaerobic respiration occurs when oxygen is not available. The two paths of cellular respiration share the glycolysis step. Aerobic respiration has three steps: glycolysis, Krebs cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation. During glycolysis, glucose is broken down into pyruvate and produces 2 ATP.
The is also known as TCA cycle which contains a series of Redox reactions to convert pyruvate into CO2 and produce NADH and FADH2. During oxidative phosphorylation, NADH and FADH2 are used as substrate to generate a pH gradient on mitochondria membrane which is used to generate ATP via ATP synthase. Anaerobic respiration contains two steps: glycolysis and fermentation. Fermentation regenerates the reactants needed for glycolysis to run again. Fermentation converts pyruvate into ethanol or lactic acid, and in the process regenerates intermediates for glycolysis. Rapid Study Kit for ' Title'.
Metabolism includes catabolism and anabolism. Anabolism is the synthesis of complex molecules from precursors, while catabolism is the breakdown of complex molecules into smaller precursors from which they are synthesized. All these pathways involve biochemical reactions. Free energy describes whether a reaction will occur spontaneously. In metabolism, reactions which are spontaneous are favorable because these run automatically and release free energy. Every reaction has an activation energy which can be lowered down by enzymes.
Enzymes do this by bringing the reactants closer together. ATP is the energy currency of all cells. Most of the reactions in the cell require ATP. A non-spontaneous reaction can be coupled to ATP hydrolysis reaction to enable the overall reaction release free energy and therefore become favorable. ATP is generated by cellular respiration, which contains fermentation (anaerobic respiration) and the Krebs cycle (aerobic fermentation). Tutorial Features. Metabolism.
Building Blocks & Precursors. Anabolism. Catabolism. The Role of ATP Energetics of Biological Reactions.
Energy. Thermodynamics. Activation Energy & Enzymes.
Redox Reactions. The Role of ATP in Metabolism. Coupling Cellular Respiration. Definition. Aerobic Respiration. Anaerobic Respiration Aerobic Respiration. Glycolysis.
Respiration Biology Quizlet
The Krebs cycle. Oxidative phosphorylation Anaerobic Respiration. Glycolysis. Fermentation Summary on respiration See all 24 lessons in College Biology, including concept tutorials, problem drills and cheat sheets.