Cell Respiration

Respiration is the process by which organisms burn food to produce energy. The starting material of
cellular respiration is the sugar glucose, which has energy stored in its chemical bonds. You can
think of glucose as a kind of cellular piece of coal: chock-full of energy, but useless when you want to
power a stereo. Just as burning coal produces heat and energy in the form of electricity, the chemical
processes of respiration convert the energy in glucose into usable form.
Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the usable form of energy produced by respiration. ATP is
like electricity: it contains the same energy as coal, but its easier to transport and is just whats
needed when the cell needs some power to carry out a task.

ATP
ATP is a nucleic acid similar to RNA. It has a ribose sugar attached to the nitrogenous base adenine.
However, instead of the single phosphate group typical of RNA nucleotides, ATP has three phosphate
groups. Each of the ATP phosphate groups carries a negative charge. In order to hold the three
negative charges in such proximity, the bonds holding the phosphate groups have to be quite
powerful. If one or two of the bonds are broken and the additional phosphates are freed, the energy
stored in the bonds is released and can be used to fuel other chemical reactions. When the cell needs
energy, it removes phosphates from ATP by hydrolysis, creating energy and either adenosine
diphosphate (ADP), which has two phosphates, or adenosine monophosphate (AMP), which has one
phosphate.

Respiration is the process of making ATP rather than breaking it down. To make ATP, the cell burns
glucose and adds new phosphate groups to AMP or ADP, creating new power molecules.
There are actually two general types of respiration, aerobic and anaerobic. Aerobic respiration occurs
in the presence of oxygen, while anaerobic respiration does not use oxygen. Both types of cell
respiration begin with the process of glycolysis, after which the two diverge. Well first discuss
aerobic respiration and then move to anaerobic.

Aerobic Cell Respiration

Aerobic respiration is more efficient and more complicated than anaerobic respiration. Aerobic
respiration uses oxygen and glucose to produce carbon dioxide, water, and ATP. More precisely, this
process involves six oxygen molecules for every sugar molecule:
6O 2 + C 6 H 1 2 O 6

6CO 2 + 6H 2 O + ATP energy

This general equation for aerobic respiration (which you should know for the test) is actually the
product of three separate stages: glycolysis, the Krebs cycle, and the electron transport chain.
Typically, the SAT II Biology only asks questions about the starting and ending products of each
stage and the location where each takes place. Understanding the internal details of stages will help
you remember these key facts and prepare you in case the testers throw in a more difficult question,
but the details of all the complex reactions will probably not be tested by the SAT II.

Glycolysis

Glycolysis is the first stage of aerobic (and anaerobic) respiration. It takes place in the cytoplasm of
the cell. In glycolysis (glucose breaking), ATP is used to split glucose molecules into a three-carbon
compound called pyruvate. This splitting produces energy that is stored in ATP and a molecule
called NADH. The chemical formula for glycolysis is:
C 6 H 1 2 O 6 + 2ATP + 2NAD +
2pyruvate + 4ATP + 2NADH
As the formula indicates, the cell must invest 2 ATP molecules in order to get glycolysis going. But by
the time glycolysis is complete, the cell has produced 4 new ATP, creating a net gain of 2 ATP.
The 2 NADH molecules travel to the mitochondria, where, in the next two stages of aerobic

respiration, the energy stored in them is converted to ATP.

The most important things to remember about glycolysis are:
Glycolysis is part of both aerobic and anaerobic respiration.
Glycolysis splits glucose, a six-carbon compound, into two pyruvate molecules,
each of which has three carbons.
In glycolysis, a 2 ATP investment results in a 4 ATP payoff.
Unlike the rest of aerobic respiration, which takes place in the mitochondria,
glycolysis takes place in the cytoplasm of the cell.
Unlike the rest of aerobic respiration, glycolysis does not require oxygen.

The Krebs Cycle

After glycolysis, the pyruvate sugars are transported to the mitochondria. During this transport, the
three-carbon pyruvate is converted into the two-carbon molecule called acetate. The extra carbon
from the pyruvate is released as carbon dioxide, producing another NADH molecule that heads off to
the electron transport chain to help create more ATP. The acetate attaches to a coenzyme called
coenzyme A to form the compound acetyl-CoA. The acetyl-CoA then enters the Krebs cycle. The
Krebs cycle is called a cycle because one of the molecules it starts with, the four-carbon oxaloacetate,
is regenerated by the end of the cycle to start the cycle over again.
The Krebs cycle begins when acetyl-CoA and oxaloacetate interact to form the six-carbon compound
citric acid. (The Krebs cycle is also sometimes called the citric acid cycle.) This citric acid
molecule then undergoes a series of eight chemical reactions that strip carbons to produce a new
oxaloacetate molecule. The extra carbon atoms are expelled as CO 2 (the Krebs cycle is the source of
the carbon dioxide you exhale). In the process of breaking up citric acid, energy is produced. It is
stored in ATP, NADH, and FADH 2 . The NADH and FADH 2 proceed on to the electron transport chain.
The entire Krebs cycle is shown in the figure below. For the SAT II Biology, you dont have to know
the intricacies of this figure, but you should be able to recognize that it shows the Krebs cycle.

It is also important to remember that each glucose molecule that enters glycolysis is split into two
pyruvate molecules, which are then converted into the acetyl-CoA that moves through the Krebs
cycle. This means that for every glucose molecule that enters glycolysis, the Krebs cycle runs twice.
Therefore, for one glucose molecule running through aerobic cell respiration, the equation for the
Krebs cycle is:
2acetyl-CoA + 2oxaloacetate

4CO 2 + 6NADH + 2FADH 2 + 2ATP + 2oxaloacetate

For the SAT II Biology, the most important things to remember about the Krebs cycle are:
The Krebs cycle results in 2 ATP molecules for each glucose molecule run through
glycolysis.
The Krebs cycle sends energy-laden NADH and FADH 2 molecules on to the next
step in respiration, the electron transport chain. It does not export carbon molecules for
further processing.
The Krebs cycle takes place in the mitochondrial matrix, the innermost
compartment of the mitochondria.
Though the Krebs cycle does not directly require oxygen, it can only take place
when oxygen is present because it relies on by-products from the electron transport
chain, which requires oxygen. The Krebs cycle is therefore an aerobic process.

The Electron Transport Chain

A great deal of energy is stored in the NADH and FADH 2 molecules formed in glycolysis and the Krebs
cycle. This energy is converted to ATP in the final phase of respiration, the electron transport chain:
10NADH + 2FADH 2

34ATP

The electron transport chain consists of a set of three protein pumps embedded in the inner
membrane of the mitochondria. FADH 2 and NADH are used to power these pumps. Using the energy
in NADH and FADH 2 , these pumps move positive hydrogen ions (H + ) from the mitochondrial matrix
to the intermembrane space. This creates a concentration gradient over the membrane.
In a process called oxidative phosphorylation, H + ions flow back into the matrix through a
membrane protein called an ATP synthase. This channel is the opposite of the standard membrane
pumps that burns ATP to transport molecules against their concentration gradient: ATP synthase
uses the natural movement of ions along their concentration gradient to make ATP. All told, the flow
of ions through this channel produces 34 ATP molecules. The waste products from the powering of
the electron transport chain protein pumps combine with oxygen to produce water molecules. By
accepting these waste products, oxygen frees NAD + and FAD to play their roles in the Krebs cycle and
the electron transport chain. Without oxygen, these vital energy carrier molecules would not perform
their roles and the processes of aerobic respiration could not occur.

For the SAT II Biology, the most important things to remember about the electron transport chain
and oxidative phosphorylation are:
Four ATP molecules are produced by glycolysis and the Krebs cycle combined.
The electron transport chain produces 34 ATP.
The electron transport chain occurs across the inner membrane of the
mitochondria.
The electron transport chain requires oxygen.

Anaerobic Respiration
Aerobic respiration requires oxygen. However, some organisms live in places where oxygen is not
always present. Similarly, under extreme exertion, muscle cells may run out of oxygen. Anaerobic
respiration is a form of respiration that can function without oxygen.
In the absence of oxygen, organisms continue to carry out glycolysis, since glycolysis does not use
oxygen in its chemical process. But glycolysis does require NAD + . In aerobic respiration, the electron
transport chain turns NADH back to NAD + with the aid of oxygen, thereby averting
any NAD + shortage and allowing glycolysis to take place. In anaerobic respiration, cells must find
another way to turn NADH back toNAD + .
This other way is called fermentation. Fermentations goal is not to produce additional energy,
but merely to replenish NAD + supplies so that glycolysis can continue churning out its slow but
steady stream of ATP. Because pyruvates are not needed in anaerobic respiration, fermentation uses
them to help regenerate NAD + . While employing the pyruvates in this way does allow glycolysis to
continue, it also results in the loss of the considerable energy contained in the pyruvate sugars.

There are two principle forms of fermentation, lactic acid fermentation and alcoholic
fermentation. For the SAT II Biology, remember that no matter what kind of fermentation
occurs, anaerobic respiration only produces 2 net ATP in glycolysis.

Lactic Acid Fermentation

In lactic acid fermentation, pyruvate is converted to a three-carbon compound called lactic acid:
pyruvate + NADH

lactic acid + NAD +

In this reaction, the hydrogen from the NADH molecule is transferred to the pyruvate molecule.
Lactic acid fermentation is common in fungi and bacteria. Lactic acid fermentation also takes place
in human muscle cells when strenuous exercise causes temporary oxygen shortages. Since lactic acid
is a toxic substance, its buildup in the muscles produces fatigue and soreness.

Alcoholic Fermentation
Another route to NAD + produces alcohol (ethanol) as a by-product:
pyruvate + NADH

ethyl alcohol + NAD + + CO 2

Alcoholic fermentation is the source of ethyl alcohol present in wines and liquors. It also accounts for
the bubbles in bread. When yeast in bread dough runs out of oxygen, it goes through alcoholic
fermentation, producing carbon dioxide. These carbon dioxide bubbles create spaces in the dough
and cause it to rise.
Like lactic acid, the ethanol produced by alcoholic fermentation is toxic. When ethanol levels rise to
about 12 percent, the yeast dies.