Bio 1100 Energy Vocab

Energy

capacity to cause change or do work, ability to rearrange matter

Potential energy

Based on structure and position relative to a field, not motion, bonds hold PE b/c if you break them it allows the molecules to move which = KE

Kinetic Energy

Movement of stuff, moving molecules = thermal E, moving photons = light E, and moving electrons = electricity, can be at the molecular level or visual level

Most energy comes from where

the sun

Chemical cycling

organisms live, die, return to the earth and become nutrients/energy for other organisms

Energy Flow

Energy moves through a food chain, doesn’t cycle, finally leaves as heat, passes through living systems

1st Law of thermodynamics

Energy cannot be created nor destroyed, only transformed

2nd Law of thermodynamics

When energy is transformed, entropy or disorder increases, transformations are not 100% efficient, some E is always given off as heat

Disorder

an increase in the movement of something that’s been broken up (changes in organization like a molecule), makes it more messy

How entropy can increase or decrease as a result of a system

During energy transformations the amount of energy available to do work decreases, what is lost comes off as heat, during anabolism, things energy is used to form bigger molecules, so there is less smaller things(less mess), so less entropy

What are the 2 main sources of potential energy in cells?

Bonds: usually weak covalent bonds and Concentration gradients: become potential when things start going across the membrane

Breaking bonds

releases energy

Molecules with very stable arrangement of orbitals have how much chemical energy?

very little, it is favorable to keep stable things as stable things, so we don’t break them up for energy

Spontaneous reactions

energy releasing, catabolic, favor more entropy because they are breaking up things into smaller things and making it more disorderly, ex. Diffusion b/c it decreases organization

More entropy equals …

smaller molecules, fewer bonds, less organization, less PE, and MORE ENTROPY

Less entropy equals …

Larger molecules, more bonds, more organization, more PE and LESS ENTROPY

Nonspontaneous reactions

absorb energy in order to occur

Ex. an inner and outer membrane not at equilibrium

Higher potential E b/c stuff wants to move down the gradient which creates kinetic energy once they move, while unequally distributed = more organized

Ex. an inner and outer membrane at equilibrium

Lower potential E b/c stuff doesn’t want to move down the gradient so things already have kinetic E, while unequally distributed = more organized

Ex. If things move against the concentration gradient

it is a nonspontaneous reaction b/c it requires the input of E

Photoautotrophs

Energy from sunlight and form their own organic molecules from (get Carbon from) inorganic molecules like CO2, ex. Plants

Photoheterotrophs

Energy from sunlight and get carbon from organic molecules, ex. specific types of bacteria, like heliobacteria

Chemoautotrophs

Get their energy from chemical compounds and get carbon from inorganic sources like CO2, ex. specific type of bacteria like Hydrogen bacteria

Chemoheterotrophs

Get their energy from chemical compounds and their carbon from organic compounds, ex. most bacteria and animals

Metabolism

all chemical reactions in an organism that convert molecules and transfer energy

Catabolism

break down molecules into smaller units; releases energy; hydrolysis

Anabolism

Build molecules from smaller units; requires energy input, dehydration synthesis

What is carbon for?

Building living things

Exergonic chemical reactions(spontaneous)

release energy, products have less free energy(more entropy) than reactants, negative delta G

Endergonic chemical reactions(nonspontaneous)

need an input of energy, products have more free energy(less entropy) than reactants, positive delta G

Energy Coupling reactions

catabolism(exergonic) and anabolism(endergonic) reactions happen together, the release of free energy from the exergonic reaction fuels the endergonic reaction

What is the chemical structure of ATP

Adenine, a five carbon ribose sugar and three phosphate groups bounded to the sugar

Where does ATP get most of its energy

the 3rd phosphate group, going from ATP to ADP + P is endergonic, using hydrolysis, ATP is continually recycled

What does phosphorylation mean?

adding a phosphate group, which is endergonic

What does dephosphorylation mean?

loosing a phosphate group

How does ATP help energy coupling

ATP facilitates energy coupling, breaking ATP(exergonic) and using that energy to power endergonic reactions (makes them favorable)

How does ATP cycle within a cell?

Making ATP is endergonic, it cycles by being made into ATP from ADP + P being broken and sending that energy into making other molecules or break molecules into their sub units

Transition state

unstable things with potential energy are used as activation energy which results in a jump of energy at the beginning of a reaction

If two reactions have different activation energies but the same resulting product energy, is the change in free energy different?

No, after activation energy is inputted that energy is then given off and then the energy from the intended reaction gives off energy, so the input of activation every is offset by the energy it gives off