ATP

Question 1

what does ATP stand for?

Answer 1

Adenosine TriPhosphate

Question 2

what is ATP comprised of?

Answer 2

• adenine nitrogenous base
• ribose (pentose sugar)
• 3 inorganic phosphate group

Question 3

how is ATP made/produced?

Answer 3

• formed by condensation reaction (during respiration)
• from ADP + Pi
• using enzyme ATP synthase

Question 4

How does ATP release energy?

Answer 4

ATP + water –> ADP + Pi
- using enzyme ATP hydrolase
- by breaking one of the bonds between Pi, a small amount of energy is released to the surroundings (this can be used in chemical reactions)

Question 5

why is ATP an immediate energy source?

Answer 5

• only one bond has to be hdyrolysed to release energy

Question 6

can ATP also transfer energy to different compounds?

Answer 6

• yes
• Pi released during ATP hydrolysis can be bonded onto different compounds to make them more reactive (phosphorylation)

Question 7

what are the five key properties of ATP?

Answer 7

1) ATP releases energy is small, managebale amounts, so no energy is wasted
2) ATP is small and soluable, so easily transported around the cell
3) only one bond is broken/hydrolysed to release energy, so energy release is immediate
4) ATP can transfer energy to another molecule by transferring one of its phosphate groups
5) ATP cant pass out of the cell, so the cell always has an immediate supply of energy

Question 8

how do the five key properties of ATP compare with the properties of glucose

Answer 8

1) ATP releases energy in small amounts, so cells do not overheat from wasted energy/run out of resources .VS. glucose releases large amounts of energy that could result in wasted energy
2) ATP is small and soluable so can move around cytoplasm easily + provide energy for chemical reactions within cell = glucose is the same
3) ATP only one bond is broken to release energy, so immeddiate energy release VS glucose needs several bonds to be broken down
4) ATP can transfer energy to other molecules by transferring one of its phosphate groups VS glucose cannot do this because it does not contain phosphate groups
5) ATP cannot pass out of cell, so cell always has constant supply of energy VS glucose can leave the cell, so cell might run out of energy source of glucose