cp. 7 and 8 bio

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering the key concepts of ATP, energy forms, cellular respiration, and fermentation.

ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate)

Adenosine triphosphate; a molecule that stores chemical energy converted from food and acts like a cell battery to release power for cellular work.

Chemical Work

A type of cellular work involving chemical reactions, such as building large molecules, where enzymes lower the energy needed to rearrange molecules.

Mechanical Work

A type of cellular work involving physical movement, such as muscle cells contracting to move the body or cilia and flagella moving cells.

Transport Work

A type of cellular work that involves pumping substances across a cell membrane, such as active transport moving molecules from low to high concentration.

ATP Cycle

The process where ATP loses a piece to become ADP and release power for cellular work, after which energy from food is used to recharge ADP back into ATP.

Autotroph

An organism that makes its own food, including all plants, all algae (single-celled plants), and some bacteria.

Heterotroph

An organism that obtains food by eating other organisms rather than producing its own food.

Producer

An autotroph that produces organic molecules that serve as food for other organisms in its ecosystem.

Consumer

A heterotrophic organism that obtains food by eating autotrophs or other consumers, including all animals and all protozoa (single-celled animals).

Decomposer

An organism that breaks down and decays dead organisms to obtain energy while recycling carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen (CHON), including some bacteria and all fungi.

Photosynthesis

The cellular process by which plants and other autotrophs use energy from the sun to convert water ($\text{H}_2\text{O}$) and carbon dioxide ($\text{CO}_2$) into sugars.

Cellular Respiration

An aerobic chemical process occurring in cytoplasm and mitochondria of both plant and animal cells that converts stored chemical energy in glucose into ATP, releasing carbon dioxide ($\text{CO}_2$) and water ($\text{H}_2\text{O}$) as waste.

Chemical Equation for Cellular Respiration

$$\text{C}_6\text{H}_{12}\text{O}_6 + 6\text{O}_2 \rightarrow 6\text{CO}_2 + 6\text{H}_2\text{O} + \text{ATP}$$

Aerobic

A biological process requiring or using oxygen ($\text{O}_2$).

Anaerobic

A biological process occurring without the use of oxygen ($\text{no }\text{O}_2$ used).

Kinetic Energy

The energy of motion.

Potential Energy

Energy that is stored due to an object's position or arrangement.

Thermal Energy

The total amount of energy associated with the random movement of atoms and molecules in a sample of matter.

Chemical Energy

The potential to do work due to the arrangement of atoms within molecules, stored in the chemical bonds of atoms and molecules.

Calorie

The amount of energy required to raise the temperature of $1\,\text{g}$ of water by $1^\circ\text{C}$.

Electron Transport Chain

A stage in cellular respiration in which electron carriers pass electrons on to other carriers.

Glycolysis

The first step of cellular respiration, occurring in the cytoplasm, in which glucose is broken down into pyruvic acid and some energy is released.

Krebs Cycle

The second step of cellular respiration, occurring in the mitochondria, where glucose is completely broken down into waste products carbon dioxide and water, releasing all energy from glucose.

Fermentation

An anaerobic cellular process of making ATP without oxygen where only glycolysis is completed in the cytoplasm, producing few ATP ($2$) while leaving most energy in waste products.

Lactic Acid Fermentation

An anaerobic pathway that occurs in tired muscle cells ($\text{no }\text{O}_2$) or some bacteria, using glucose to yield $2$ ATP and lactic acid as waste.

Alcoholic Fermentation

An anaerobic pathway occurring in yeast cells that breaks down glucose to produce $2$ ATP along with alcohol and carbon dioxide ($\text{CO}_2$) as waste products.

ATP Yield: Cellular Respiration vs. Fermentation

Cellular respiration yields many ATP ($34$) using oxygen, whereas fermentation yields few ATP ($2$) without oxygen.