Metabolism and Cellular Respiration

This set of flashcards covers key vocabulary and concepts from the lecture on metabolism and cellular respiration.

Metabolism

The sum of all chemical reactions within an organism, including catabolic and anabolic reactions.

Catabolism

The set of metabolic pathways that break down molecules into smaller units, releasing energy.

Anabolism

The set of metabolic pathways that construct larger molecules from smaller units, requiring energy.

ATP

Adenosine triphosphate, the primary energy currency of cells.

Activation Energy

The minimum energy needed to start a chemical reaction.

Autotroph

Organisms that can produce their own organic compounds from simple inorganic materials.

Heterotroph

Organisms that obtain their organic compounds by feeding on other organisms.

Photoautotroph

Organisms that produce organic compounds from inorganic materials using light energy.

Kinetic Energy

The energy possessed by an object due to its motion.

Potential Energy

Stored energy due to an object's position or state, often found in chemical bonds.

1st Law of Thermodynamics

The principle that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed.

Aerobic Cellular Respiration

A process that converts glucose and oxygen into carbon dioxide, water, and energy (ATP) requiring oxygen.

REDOX Reactions

Chemical reactions involving oxidation (loss of electrons) and reduction (gain of electrons).

Enthalpy

The total heat content of a system, often associated with energy changes during reactions.

Glycolysis

The metabolic pathway that breaks down a six-carbon glucose molecule into two three-carbon pyruvate molecules, yielding ATP and NADH.

Krebs Cycle

A series of enzyme-catalyzed reactions in the mitochondrial matrix that further oxidize pyruvate to produce ATP, NADH, and FADH2.

Electron Transport Chain

A series of protein complexes in the inner mitochondrial membrane that transfers electrons and pumps protons to generate ATP.

Chemiosmosis

The movement of protons across a membrane through ATP synthase to generate ATP from ADP and inorganic phosphate.

Fermentation

An anaerobic metabolic process that converts glucose to acids, gases, or alcohol, regenerating NAD+.

Photosynthesis

The process by which plants and other organisms convert light energy into chemical energy stored in glucose.

Calvin Cycle

The set of light-independent reactions in photosynthesis that convert carbon dioxide into glucose.

Chlorophyll

The green pigment in plants involved in absorbing light energy for photosynthesis.

Action Spectrum

A graph showing the efficiency of different wavelengths of light in driving photosynthesis.

Absorption Spectrum

A graph that displays the wavelengths of light absorbed by a pigment.

Lactic Acid Fermentation

A type of fermentation that converts pyruvate into lactic acid, typically occurring in muscle cells under anaerobic conditions.

Alcoholic Fermentation

Fermentation that converts pyruvate into ethanol and carbon dioxide, commonly used by yeast.

NAD+

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, an electron carrier involved in redox reactions.

FADH2

Flavin adenine dinucleotide, an electron carrier that donates electrons to the electron transport chain, resulting in ATP production.