Chapter 8.1.1 (Exam 2) Metabolism Flashcards
Chemical Transformations Involve Energy and Energy Transfers
What is metabolism?
Sum total of all chemical reactions occurring in a biological system at a given time
Metabolic reactions involve energy changes. What is energy?
Energy is the capacity to do work, or the capacity for change
All forms of energy can be classified into the following two categories:
Potential energy—energy stored as chemical bonds, concentration gradients, or charge imbalance
Kinetic energy—the energy of movement
What are the two types of metabolism?
Anabolism
Catabolism
Describe anabolic reactions.
Complex molecules are made from simple molecules
Energy is required
Describe catabolic reactions.
Complex molecules are broken down to simpler ones
Energy is released
Describe the laws of thermodynamics.
The laws of thermodynamics apply to all matter and all energy transformations in the universe.
They help us to understand how cells harvest and transform energy to sustain life.
What is the first law of thermodynamics?
Energy is neither created nor destroyed
When energy is converted from one form to another, the total energy before and after the conversion is the same
What is the second law of thermodynamics?
When energy is converted from one form to another, some of that energy becomes unavailable to do work
No energy transformation is 100% efficient; some energy is lost to disorder
