ATP Flashcards
What is ATP?
- adenosine triphosphate
- immediate source of energy for biological processes
What is ATP made up of?
- three inorganic phosphate ions
- adenine (nitrogenous base)
- ribose (Pentose sugar)
Why are the phosphate groups described as being inorganic?
- do not contain any carbon atoms
Draw the structure of ATP
When is ATP made during?
- respiration
What is ATP made by?
- ADP (adenosine diphosphate) and addition of inorganic phosphate by condensation reaction using ATP synthase
What can ATP be hydrolysed into?
- ADP + Pi
Which enzyme hydrolyses ATP?
- ATP hydrolase
What happens when the bond between the inorganic phosphate group is broken?
- during hydrolysis reaction, small amount of energy is released to the surroundings which can be used in chemical reactions
Why is ATP an immediate energy source?
- only one bond has to be hydrolysed to release energy
What is phosphorylation?
- ATP transfers energy to different compounds
- inorganic phosphate released during the hydrolysis of ATP can be bonded onto different compounds to make them more reactive
What is an example of phosphorylation?
- applies to glucose at the start of respiration to make it more reactive
What are the five properties of ATP?
- ATP release energy in small, manageable amount
- small and soluble
- only one bond is broken to release energy which is why energy release is immediate
- it can transfer energy to another molecule by transferring one of its phosphate groups
Why is ATP releasing energy in small, manageable amounts advantageous?
- no energy is wasted
Why is ATP being small and soluble advantageous?
- easily transported around the cell
Compare ATP release energy in small, manageable amount so no energy is wasted to glucose
- this means cells do not overheat from wasted heat energy and cells less likely to run out of resources
- glucose would release large amounts of energy that could result in wasted energy
Compare ATP small and soluble to easily transport around cell to glucose
- ATP can move around cytoplasm with ease to provide energy for chemical reactions within cell
- ATP and glucose have this in common
Compare ATP only one bond is broken to release energy which is why energy release is immediate to glucose
- glucose requires several binds to be broken down to release all of its energy
Compare ATP can transfer energy to another molecule by transferring one of its phosphate groups to glucose
- ATP can enable phosphorylation making other compounds more reactive
- glucose cannot do this as it doesn’t contain phosphate groups
What is an energy currency molecule?
- immediate donor of energy to energy requiring reactions
- referred to as universal energy carrier
Which molecule is energy currency molecule?
- ATP
What is an energy storage molecule?
- stores (short term or long term) of chemical potential energy
What is an example of energy storage molecule?
- glycogen
