Cellular Respiration

Cellular Respiration

The process by which we derive energy from the food we eat, specifically from glucose.

Glucose

A sugar molecule with the chemical formula C6H12O6, which is used as a source of energy in cellular respiration.

ATP

Adenosine Triphosphate, known as the "currency" of biological energy, is a molecule that stores and releases energy for cellular processes.

Glycolysis

The process of breaking down glucose into two 3-carbon molecules called pyruvic acids or pyruvate, which generates ATP and NADH.

Anaerobic

A process that occurs without the presence of oxygen, such as glycolysis.

Fermentation

A process that occurs in the absence of oxygen, which helps regenerate NAD+ to keep glycolysis going. It produces products like lactic acid or ethyl alcohol.

Krebs Cycle

Also known as the citric acid cycle, it takes the products of glycolysis (pyruvates) and reworks them to produce ATP and other forms of energy.

Acetyl CoA

A two-carbon compound formed when one carbon of the pyruvate combines with oxygen and leaves the cell as CO2 during the Krebs Cycle.

Electron Transport Chain

A series of channel proteins located in the inner membrane of the mitochondria that transfer high-energy electrons from NADH and FADH2, generating ATP through the flow of protons.

Aerobic

A process that requires the presence of oxygen, such as the Krebs Cycle and the Electron Transport Chain.