Chapter 7 Section 3: Fermentation

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, molecules, organisms, and mechanisms involved in anaerobic fermentation based on the lecture transcript.

Fermentation

An anaerobic breakdown of glucose that yields a net total of 2 ATP (which are produced in glycolysis) and does not generate any ATP itself.

Pyruvic Acid

The intermediate molecule produced during glycolysis that accepts electrons and protons from NADH during fermentation to replenish NAD+.

NAD+

An electron carrier molecule that must be replenished by fermentation so it can go back to glycolysis enzymes and collect more electrons from glucose.

NADH

An electron-carrying molecule made during glycolysis that drops off its electrons and proton onto pyruvic acid during fermentation.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae

A species of yeast that, in the absence of oxygen, replenishes its NAD+ by converting pyruvic acid into a two-carbon alcohol and carbon dioxide.

Lactate

The molecule formed in human muscle cells from pyruvic acid when maximal oxygen intake is reached during exercise and oxygen is unavailable.

Anaerobic Breakdown

The pathway or process used by cells to extract energy from glucose in the absence of oxygen without producing excessive toxic waste products.