Cellular Respiration Vocab Flashcards
fermentation
A catabolic process that makes a limited amount of ATP from glucose without an electron transport chain and that produces a characteristic end product, such as ethyl alcohol or lactic acid.
aerobic respiration
A catabolic pathway for organic molecules, using oxygen as the final electron acceptor in an electron transport chain and ultimately producing ATP.
cellular respiration
The catabolic pathways of aerobic and anaerobic respiration, which break down organic molecules and use an electron transport chain for the production of ATP.
redox reaction
A chemical reaction involving the complete or partial transfer of one or more electrons from one reactant to another; short of reduction-oxidation reaction.
oxidation
The complete or partial loss of electrons from a substance involved in a redox reaction
reduction
The complete or partial addition of electrons to a substrate involved in a redox reaction
electron transport chain
A sequence of electron carrier molecules (membrane proteins) that shuttle electrons during the redox reactions that release energy used to make ATP.
glycolysis
A series of reactions that ultimately splits glucose into pyruvate.
citric acid cycle
A chemical cycle involving eight steps that completes the metabolic breakdown of glucose molecules to carbon dioxide; occurs within the mitochondrion; the second major stage in cellular respiration. Also called the Krebs cycle.
oxidative phosphorylation
The production of ATP using energy derived from the redox reactions of an electron transport chain.
substrate-level phosphorylation
The enzyme-catalyzed formation of ATP by direct transfer of a phosphate group to ADP from an intermediate substrate in catabolism.
acetyl CoA
The entry compound for the citric acid cycle in cellular respiration, formed from a fragment of pyruvate attached to a coenzyme.
cytochromes
An iron-containing protein that is a component of electron transport chains in the mitochondria and chloroplasts of eukaryotic cells and the plasma membranes of prokaryotic cells.
ATP synthase
A complex of several membrane proteins that functions in chemiosmosis with adjacent electron transport chains, using the energy of a hydrogen ion (proton) concentration gradient to make a high-energy product.
chemiosmosis
An energy-coupling mechanism that uses energy stored in the form of a hydrogen ion gradient across a membrane to drive cellular work, such as the synthesis of ATP. Most ATP synthesis in cells occurs by this process.
