bio midterm

Mitochondria

Organelles found in plant and animal eukaryotic cells responsible for cellular respiration and energy transformation.

Chloroplasts

Organelles found in plant eukaryotic cells that contain chlorophyll, essential for photosynthesis.

Endosymbiotic Hypothesis

The theory that certain organelles originated from ancient bacteria that were engulfed by ancestral eukaryotic cells.

Cellular Respiration

The process through which cells harvest chemical energy, breaking down glucose to ATP.

Glycolysis

The first stage of cellular respiration that occurs in the cytoplasm, converting glucose to pyruvate and producing ATP.

Krebs Cycle (Citric Acid Cycle)

The second stage of cellular respiration that produces ATP and electron carriers, occurs in the mitochondrial matrix.

Electron Transport Chain

The final stage of cellular respiration that occurs in the inner mitochondrial membrane, produces the majority of ATP (34 ATPs) through a proton gradient.

ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate)

The universal energy currency molecule of living organisms, produced during cellular respiration.

Photosynthesis

The process by which plants and certain organisms convert light energy into chemical energy in the form of glucose.

Light Reactions

Photosynthetic reactions that occur in the thylakoid membranes, converting light energy to ATP and NADPH.

Calvin Cycle (Light Independent Reactions)

The phase of photosynthesis that utilizes ATP and NADPH to fix carbon dioxide into carbohydrates, occurring in the stroma of chloroplasts.

NADH

An electron carrier produced during glycolysis and the Krebs cycle, important for driving the electron transport chain.

Fermentation

An anaerobic process that occurs in the absence of oxygen, resulting in the production of molecules like lactic acid or ethanol.

Cristae

The infoldings of the inner mitochondrial membrane that increase the surface area for energy production.

Stroma

The fluid-filled space in chloroplasts where the Calvin Cycle occurs.

Glucose

A six-carbon sugar that is a primary energy source for cells and a key reactant in cellular respiration.

Anaerobic Respiration

A form of respiration that occurs without oxygen, leading to processes such as fermentation.

Prokaryotic Cells

Cells that lack a nucleus and organelles, including bacteria.

Eukaryotic Cells

Cells that contain a nucleus and organelles, including plant and animal cells.