Chaoter 8- Intro To Metabolism Flashcards
Cellular respiration
Drives the cell by extracting the energy stored in sugars and other fuels
Metabolism
Totality of an organisms chemical reaction
A cells metabolism is thousands of chemical rxn that happen in a cell organized as metabolic pathways
Metabolic pathways
Begins w/ a specific molecule, that is then altered in a series of defined steps, resulting in a certain product
Structures in the cell help bring order to metabolic pathways
Catabolic pathways
Some metabolic pathways release energy by breaking down complex molecules into simpler compounds
Major pathway of catabolism is cellular respiration
Atoms are rearranged and energy is released resulting in lower energy break down products
Anabolic pathways
Consume energy to build complicated molecules from simpler ones
Ex) synthesis of a protein
Bioenergentics
Study of how organisms manage their energy resources
Energy
Capacity to cause change
Kinetic energy
Energy of motion
Heat/thermal energy is kinetic energy associated w/ random movement of atoms or molecules
Potential energy
Storage energy or energy that matter posses bc if it’s location or structure
Chemical energy
Potential energy available
Thermodynamics
Study of energy transformations that occur in a collection of matter 2 laws of thermodynamics govern energy transformations in organisms and all other collections of matter
First law of thermodynamics
The energy of the universe is constant
The cheetah converts the chemical energy of the organic molecules in its food to kinetic and other forms of energy as it carries biological processes
During energy transfer some energy becomes unusable (most energy is lost as heat)
Entropy
Measure of disorder or randomness more random more entropy
Second law of thermodynamics
Every energy transfer or transformation increases the entropy of the universe
Increased entropy is shown in the physical disintegration of a system’s organized structure but in the universe it’s shown as increasing heat
For a process to occur on its own it must increase the entropy of the universe
Biological order and disorder
Cells create ordered structures from less organized starting materials
Ex) amino acids are ordered into specific sequences of polypeptide chains
Organisms can also take in organized forms of matter and energy and replaces them w/ less ordered forms
Ex) animals obtain starch protein and other complex molecules
Free energy
Measures the portion of a systems energy that can perform work when temperature and pressure are uniform throughout the system as in a living cell
Processes with a - 🔼G are spontaneous