GCSE Biology Week 5:

Cellular Respiration
B2 2.1 Respiration releases energy
B2 2.4 Aerobic respiration uses oxygen to release energy
from glucose
B2 2.9 Anaerobic respiration releases energy from glucose
B2 2.10 Anaerobic respiration releases less energy than
aerobic respiration
B2 2.11 A build-up of lactic acid requires extra oxygen to
break it down

All living cells carry out Respiration EVEN

Plants! (They photosynthesize when its
light, and respire when its dark!)
Respiration is not breathing! Breathing is
ventilation (breathing in and out) which
actually provides the Oxygen (O2)
needed for aerobic respiration.
Respiration takes place in the cytoplasm
& Mitochondria (remember when
labelling your cells mitochondria are the
organelles that produce energy!)

*side note you dont need to revise

this but it is useful to know
mitochondria actually have infoldings
(called cristae) that increase their surface
area!
What does an increased surface are do?

It increases the rate of diffusion!

Cellular Respiration:
You need ENERGY to live.
Energy comes from the digested
chemicals from foods respiration is the
process that releases the energy.

It is actually a process that

occurs in all your
CELLS in your body!
It is the process of
RELEASING ENERGY from
GLUCOSE.

Respiration is
NOT
BREATHING!
(ventilation)

There are 2 types of

RESPIRATION:
1. Aerobic requires Oxygen!
Aerobic means with O2 and aerobic respiration
occurs when there is lots of O2 present

2. Anaerobic does not require

Oxygen!
2. Aerobic respiration releases more ENERGY
per molecule of GLUCOSE than anaerobic
respiration.

REMEMBER:

RESPIRATION is the
process of
RELEASING
ENERGY from
GLUCOSE

Mostly you are using AEROBIC

RESPIRATION:

turning GLUCOSE from your

food, and O2 from your LUNGS
into CARBON DIOXIDE and
WATER. Releasing LOTS of
ENERGY in the process!

You MUST
REMEMBER
THIS
EQUATION!

C6H12O6 + O2 CO2 + H2O + ENERGY (ATP)

Aerobic Respiration Recap.

Aerobic respiration uses oxygen (O2) and the most efficient way of getting
energy (ATP) from glucose.
In fact, if we compare to anaerobic respiration, we find that for every 1 molecule
of Glucose (C6H12O6) aerobic respiration (with O2) provides 20 times more
energy than would be produced anaerobically (without O2)!
Blood transports O2 and Glucose (C6H12O6) (Food) to our cells, where enzymes
(biological catalysts) speed up the process of releasing energy.
So What is the equation for Respiration? Remember, respiration uses oxygen
and food (glucose) to get energy! So, we have: Oxygen + Glucose = Energy

Now, as a result of respiration carbon dioxide

(CO2) is also produced (our waste product)
and some water is produced (H2O). So, we
must also add these products to our equation.

Making the full Respiration equation look like this:

Oxygen + Glucose Energy + Carbon dioxide + Water

Now we should also be able to write this

out Chemically, So
O2 + C6H12O6 Energy (ATP) + CO2 + H2O

Oxygen (O2) and Glucose (C6H12O6) are transported in the

bloodstream (O2 you get from ventilation breathing it in)
and Glucose (C6H12O6) comes from your diet.

Energy (ATP adenosine triphosphate the

energy molecule) is used for many life processes.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the waste product, and is
returned via the blood stream to your lungs
(ventilation Breathing it out).
Water is also a by product of respiration, which is
then lost as sweat; some in your urine; and some
as moist breath (ventilation you breath out
some water).

This is what is going on

1. ATP is the ENERGY CURRENCY

of living things
2. ATP is a small molecule
that is easily transported
around cells. It carries the
ENERGY released during
RESPIRATION to the places
where ENERGY is NEEDED
3. Energy released from both
aerobic and anaerobic
respiration is used to make
ATP

The energy released

by respiration is used
to make ATP
(adenosine
triphosphate)

Your muscles require energy (ATP)

from respiration to contract.
When you exercise some of
your muscles contract more
often, and so need more
ENERGY!
This ENERGY comes from
increased respiration!

MUSCLES NEED
ATP

This increase means you need to get more

O2 and GLUCOSE into the cells.

So your BREATHING
RATE INCREASES to
get more O2 into the

Blood.

BREATHING
RATE
INCREASES!

Your HEART RATE

INCREASES to get
GLUCOSE and
OXYGENATED
BLOOD around the
body supplying your
muscles quickly, and
removes CO2 quickly at
the same time!

HEART
RATE
INCREASES

How much you RESPIRE is dependent upon what you are doing!
e.g. you respire more when doing exercise

ANAEROBIC RESPIRATION:
When you do vigorous
exercise your body cannot
supply enough O2 to your
muscles using anaerobic
respiration even though
your Heart rate and
breathing rate increase as
a much as possible!

Does NOT
use O2 at all!

So, your muscles start to respire

without O2 they respire
anaerobically.
(in addition to aerobic)
ANAEROBIC
simply means
without O2.
It is NOT the best way to use
GLUCOSE because it releases
much LESS ENERGY.

ANAEROBIC =
without O2.

During anaerobic
respiration GLUCOSE
is only PARTIALLY
broken down and
LACTIC ACID
is also produced!

You MUST
REMEMBER
THIS
EQUATION!

GLUCOSE LACTIC ACID (+ ENERGY RELEASED)

The ADVANTAGE is
that you can continue using
your muscles!
However The LACTIC
ACID produced can build up
in the muscles.
Oxygen Dept
This is why you continue to have an
increased BREATHING RATE for a while
after you have stopped Exercising.

After resorting to
anaerobic respiration, your
muscles have an O2 DEPT.
This is the amount of
extra O2 required to break
down the built up
LACTIC ACID.

The Lactic acid is BROKEN

DOWN in your MUSCLES and in
your LIVER
so
your
HEART
RATE has
to remain
HIGH to carry
The EXTRA
required to
Break the LACTIC ACID down.

Anaerobic Respiration Recap.

Anaerobic = without oxygen (O2)
Sometimes we need to produce energy very quickly i.e. explosive activities like sprinting.
So, anaerobic respiration takes place when there isnt enough oxygen (O2) available to supply the
body (e.g. muscles) with the O2 required for normal aerobic respiration.
Anaerobic respiration is very useful in emergencies! (think Fight or Flight which well cover
when we cover the nervous system). On the whole, anaerobic respiration does not produces as
much energy as aerobic respiration (about 20 times less remember) but is very rapid. This is
because glucose (C6H12O6) is only partially broken down.
When glucose is only partially broken down another waste product is made Lactic acid!

We can show this with our word equation for Anaerobic respiration:
Glucose Lactic acid + Energy (ATP)
This is whats is going on
Glucose (C6H12O6) is delivered to the cells (muscles) via the blood stream.
Lactic acid is a waste product (that builds up in the muscles and leads to
cramp)
Energy (ATP) only a small amount is produced but is enough for short term /
explosive activity.

A build up of lactic acid requires extra

oxygen to break it down.

As you increase physical activity

(exercise) your breathing
(ventilation) rate will also
increase. This is because your
cells (your body) needs the
extra oxygen in order to respire
(carry out aerobic respiration)
efficiently, and provide the
extra energy needed.

So, as your breathing (ventilation)

rate increases larger amounts of O2
enters your bloodstream, your heart
must accommodate by speeding up,
and supplying this oxygenated
blood to all the cells and tissues
that require it.

The quicker you breathe, the quicker your heart rate!

This supplies O2 where needed, but as the rate of
respiration is increased so are the waste products.
To deal with this the rate of diffusion of (O2 and CO2) at the
Alveoli (in the lungs) and at the Muscle cells increases.
(Remember these gases are moving down their
concentration gradients).

However, this increased diffusion and supply of O2 / removal of

waste (Carbon dioxide CO2) can not go on indefinitely. As you
perform vigorous exercises (like Insanity, Tapout or sprinting away
from crocodiles) your body is unable to supply all the O2 needed /
quickly enough.

So, your cells start to respire anaerobically! (but

remember this comes with its own waste product
Lactic acid). The upside is that you can carry on
exercising and using those muscles a little bit longer!

Because your breathing rate

has increased and you have
employed anaerobic
respiration you will be out
of breath! This is called
oxygen dept.

After all this crazy exercise youll

most likely be out of breath!

So, you will have to repay the O2 dept. which

is why you breathe heavily following vigorous
exercise. This is give a special acronym:
EPOC
Exercise / post-exercise oxygen consumption.
This means youll continue to breathe
heavily taking in lots of O2 into the
bloodstream, supplying the cells and
muscles. Your heart rate will remain high
to deal with this extra O2 demand. The
extra O2 is used to convert Lactic acid into
CO2 and H2O where you breathe them
out (and sweat them out H2O).

*When we cover the circulatory systems

and respiratory systems we will
investigate the effects of exercise, so,
how cellular respiration i.e. how cells
get their energy and utilise it will be
revisited. You will also need to remember
to connect cellular respiration with
Diffusion and active transport!

Question
time