Energy Vocab Part 1

Metabolic Pathway

A series of chemical reactions that build or break down molecules in cells

Catabolic Pathway

The set of chemical reactions that break down molecules into smaller units and, in the process, produce ATP to meet the energy needs of the cell

Anabolic Pathway

The set of chemical reactions that build molecules from smaller units utilizing an input of energy, usually in the form of ATP. Anabolic reactions result in net energy storage within cells and the organism

Bioenergetics

Studies how living organisms acquire, transform, store, and utilize energy to sustain life processes

Energy

The capacity or ability to do work, drive cellular processes, and cause physical or chemical change within living organisms

Kinetic Energy

The energy of motion

Thermal Energy

The internal kinetic energy generated by the random motion, vibration, and collision of atoms and molecules within living organisms, cells, and biochemical systems

Heat

The thermal energy produced as a byproduct of cellular metabolism or transferred between a living organism and its environment. Or the flow of thermal energy from a warmer region or organism to a cooler one due to a difference in temperature

Potential Energy

Stored energy related to an object’s structure or position

Chemical Energy

A form of potential energy held in the chemical bonds between pairs of atoms in a molecule

Thermodynamics

The study of how energy transferred, transformed, and used within living organisms and biological systems. Contains the first law (The law of conservation of energy, which states that energy can be neither created nor destroyed; it can only be transformed from one form into another) and second law (The principle that the transformation of energy is associated with an increase in the degree of disorder in the universe)

Entropy

The amount of disorder, or the number of possible positions and motions of molecules, in a system

Spontaneous Process

A physical or chemical change that occurs naturally under specific conditions without needing a continuous input of energy from an outside source. RELEASES ENERGY

Gibbs Free Energy

The amount of energy available to do work

Exergonic Reaction

Describes reactions with a negative ∆G that proceed spontaneously and release energy

Endergonic Reaction

Describes reactions with a positive ∆G that are not spontaneous and so require an input of energy.

Energy Coupling

The driving of a non-spontaneous reaction (endergonic, require energy) by a spontaneous reaction (exergonic, release energy)