5.7 - Respiration Flashcards
Define cell respiration
Controlled release of energy from organic compounds to produce ATP
Explain why organisms need to respire
Provide energy in the form of ATP for:
- Active transport
- Anabolic reactions (e.g. building proteins from amino acids)
- Movement (e.g. cilia, flagella, muscles)
Write the word equation for aerobic respiration
Glucose + Oxygen → Carbon dioxide + Water
Write the symbol equation for aerobic respiration
C6H12O6 + 6O2 → 6CO2 + 6H2O
Where does aerobic respiration take place?
- Mitochondria
- Glycolysis occurs in cytosol
Describe the structure of the matrix
- Fluid found inside mitochondrion
- Contains enzymes needed in link reaction and Krebs cycle
What does the inner mitochondrial membrane contain?
Contains electron transport chain and ATP synthase (oxidative phosphorylation)
What is the cristae?
- Folds of inner mitochondrial membrane
- Increases surface area for oxidative phosphorylation
What does the outer mitochondrial membrane do?
Separates contents of mitochondrion from the rest of the cell
Describe how the structure of a mitochondrion is related to its function
- Intermembrane space between inner and outer membrane allows for a proton gradient to develop
- Cristae give large surface area for ATP synthesis
- ATP synthase generates ATP from ADP + phosphate
- Electron transport chains for generating a proton gradient
- Matrix contains enzymes for Krebs cycle
- Ribosomes and DNA for protein synthesis
What is phosphorylation?
Transfer of a phosphate group to a molecule (e.g. hexose)
- Makes the molecule less stable and more reactive
- Prevents diffusion out of the cell
- Phosphate can be transferred from ATP or as inorganic phosphate (Pi)
List the stages of aerobic respiration
- Glycolysis
- Link reaction
- Krebs cycle
- Oxidative phosphorylation
What is the substrate in glycolysis?
Glucose
Where does glycolysis take place?
Cell cytoplasm
Outline the process of glycolysis
- Takes place in cytoplasm/cytosol
- Glucose is phosphorylated
- Two molecules of ATP are used
- Produces hexose bisphosphate
- Hexose sugar converted into two (3C) triose phosphate molecules (lysis)
- 3C molecules oxidised to form pyruvate
- Small net gain of two ATP
- Formed by substrate-level phosphorylation
- Net gain of two NADH (reduced NAD)
Summarise the link reaction
- Pyruvate produced by glycolysis is absorbed by mitochondrion
- Enzymes in matrix of mitochondrion remove hydrogen and carbon dioxide from pyruvate
- Removal of hydrogen is oxidation
- Removal of carbon dioxide is decarboxylation
- Whole process = oxidative decarboxylation
- Hydrogen accepted by NAD+ to form reduced NAD (NADH)
- Product is an acetyl group
- Acetyl group is attached to Coenzyme A to form Acetyl CoA
Where does the link reaction take place?
Mitochondrial matrix
From which substrate is the first carbon dioxide molecule released during cellular respiration?
Pyruvate
Outline the role of coenzyme A in aerobic respiration
- Binds to acetyl group
- Passes acetyl group to Krebs cycle
Outline the Krebs cycle
- Occurs in the mitochondrial matrix
- Series of enzyme controlled reactions that break down Acetyl CoA into CO2
- Acetyl group (2C) from Acetyl CoA combines with oxaloacetate (4C) to make citrate (6C)
- Citrate is decarboxylated and oxidised to give a 5C compound, CO2 and reduced NAD
(NADH) - Further decarboxylation and oxidation gives the 4C compound oxaloacetate, CO2, NADH,
reduced FAD (FADH2) and ATP - ATP produced by substrate-level phosphorylation
- Oxaloacetate combines with a new molecule of acetyl CoA and cycle starts again
What name is given to the removal of a hydrogen from a compound?
Dehydrogenation
Name one compound that undergoes dehydrogenation during the Krebs cycle
Citrate
Define substrate level phosphorylation
Production of ATP from ADP
- Via transfer of a phosphate group from a reactive intermediate
In which stages of respiration does substrate level phosphorylation occur?
- Glycolysis
- Krebs cycle