3.1 Importance of ATP

The long name for ATP

Adenosine Triphosphate

What is ATP made from?

Adenine, ribose sugar, and 3 phosphates

What does universal energy currency mean?

ATP is used in all organisms and all reactions

How does ATP release energy?

The terminal bond of the 3 phosphates break off and energy is released.

How much energy is generated when the terminal phosphate is broken off?

30.6 KJmol-1

What are the products of the ATP reaction?

ADP and Pi

What is chemiosmosis?

The flow of protons down an electrochemical gradient.

What enzyme provides the potential energy needed to make ATP through phosphorylation?

ATP synthetase

What is phosphorylation?

Adding a phosphate group to something 

First step of chemiosmosis

Hydrogen ions are pumped across the membrane from a low concentration to a high concentration via a proton pump

Second step of chemiosmosis

Hydrogen ions flow down ATP synthetase, and 3 of them provide enough energy to synthetise 1 ATP by adding Pi to ADP

How much energy does the movement of 1 hydrogen ion down ATP synthetase provide?

10.2 kJmol-1

Why is ATP suited to its role? 

It’s inert, can pass out of mitochondria into the cytoplasm, releases energy efficiently, easily hydrolysed to release energy, and readily reformed in phosphorylation

How does chemiosmosis work in mitochondria?

Protons go into the intermembrane space and diffuse back into matrix

How does chemiosmosis work in chloroplast?

Protons go into thylakoid space and diffuse back into stroma

How does chemiosmosis work in bacterium? 

Protons go into periplasm and diffuse back into cytoplasm