Energy in the Body and Metabolism Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering energy forms, transformation, metabolism, cellular respiration, and basal metabolic rate.

Energy

The capacity that allows us to perform work.

Law of Conservation of Energy

States that energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be transformed from one form into another.

Metabolism

The collective term used to describe the biochemical reactions that occur in the body that are necessary to maintain life.

Anabolic Reactions

Metabolic reactions that require energy to create large molecules from simple ones, which are used to provide structural and functional components of the body.

Catabolic Reactions

Metabolic reactions that break down large molecules into simple molecules in order to harvest energy.

Metabolic Pathways

Grouped series of biochemical reactions where a starting molecule is modified to produce intermediates and ends with a final product or products.

Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP)

The primary molecule in the body where energy is stored within its chemical bonds.

Adenosine Diphosphate (ADP)

The product formed along with phosphate and released energy when the high-energy bonds of ATP are broken.

Anaerobic Respiration

Cellular respiration that occurs without oxygen, producing energy and lactic acid ($C_6H_{12}O_6 \rightarrow 2C_3H_6O_3$).

Aerobic Respiration

Cellular respiration that uses oxygen to produce energy, carbon dioxide, and water ($C_6H_{12}O_6 + 6O_2 \rightarrow 6CO_2 + 6H_2O$).

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

The rate of energy used just to keep the body alive assuming total inactivity.

Friction

The resistance to motion when two bodies or surfaces are in contact.

Elastic Energy

The form of energy stored when tissues like tendons are stretched, allowing them to spring back.

Chemical Energy

Energy stored within food molecules that the body breaks down to fuel biological processes.

Electrical Energy

The form of energy used by nerves to transmit signals around the body.