MLS 064: Biochemistry

Module #8 Student Activity Sheet

Name: Class number: _______

_________________________________________________________________ Date:
Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________
________________________________________

Lesson title: BIOENERGETICS: ROLE OF ATP Materials:

Book, Pen and Notebook
Learning Targets:
At the end of the module, students will be able to: References:
1. Understand principles of bioenergetics.
2. Compute for change in free energy (additive nature of Ubalde, Biochemistry for Allied Health
free energy changes. Sciences: Edric Publishing, 2019
3. Differentiate enthalpy and entropy.
4. Explain how ATP are the major carriers of energy.
1.

A. LESSON PREVIEW/REVIEW

a. What is the difference between glycogenesis and glycogenolysis?

b. What are some of the important enzymes involved in both pathways?
c. How does insulin and glucagon affect glycogen metabolism?
d. Give examples of glycogen storage diseases and the enzyme deficient.

B. MAIN LESSON

The students will study and read their book about this lesson.

Every living cell and organism must perform work to stay alive, to grow and to reproduce. The ability to
harvest energy from nutrients or photons of light and to channel it into biological work is the miracle of life. Living
organisms carry out a remarkable variety of energy transductions. Bioenergetics, or biochemical
thermodynamics, is the study of the energy changes accompanying biochemical reactions. The biological energy
transductions obey the physical laws that govern all natural processes, including the laws of thermodynamics.

The first law of thermodynamics states that the total energy of a system, including its
surroundings, remains constant. Therefore, energy cannot be created or destroyed, but can be changes from
one form to another. The second law of thermodynamics states that the total entropy of a system must increase
if a process is to occur spontaneously. Thus, energy transfer will always proceed in the direction of increased
entropy and the release of “free energy.”

A. Three Thermodynamic quantities

1. Gibbs free energy, G: Expresses the amount of energy capable of doing work during a reaction at
constant temperature and pressure. When a reaction proceeds with the release of free energy (that is,

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 MLS 064: Biochemistry
Module #8 Student Activity Sheet

Name: Class number: _______

_________________________________________________________________ Date:
Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________
________________________________________

when the system changes to possess less free energy), the free-energy change, ΔG, has a negative
value and the reaction is said to be exergonic. In endergonic reactions, the system gains free energy and
ΔG is positive.

a. If ΔG is negative, then the process is spontaneous and termed exergonic.

b. If ΔG is positive, then the process is nonspontaneous and termed endergonic.
c. If ΔG is equal to zero, then the process has reached equilibrium.

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 MLS 064: Biochemistry
Module #8 Student Activity Sheet

Name: Class number: _______

_________________________________________________________________ Date:
Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________
________________________________________

2. Enthalpy, H: Is the heat content of the reacting system. It reflects the number and kinds of chemical bonds
in the reactants and products. When a chemical reaction releases heat, it is said to be exothermic; the heat
content of the products is less than that of the reactants, and the change in enthalpy, ΔH, has, by convention,
a negative value. Reacting systems that take up heat from their surroundings are endothermic and have
positive values of ΔH.

a. If ΔH is negative, the process produces heat and is termed exothermic.

b. If ΔH is positive, the process absorbs heat and is termed endothermic.

3. Entropy, S: is a quantitative expression for the randomness or disorder in a system. When the products of a
reaction are less complex and more disordered than the reactants, the reaction is said to proceed with a gain
in entropy.

a. When ΔS is positive then the disorder of the system has increased.

b. When ΔS is negative then the disorder of the system has decreased.

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 MLS 064: Biochemistry
Module #8 Student Activity Sheet

Name: Class number: _______

_________________________________________________________________ Date:
Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________
________________________________________

The conditions of biological systems are constant temperature and pressure. Under such
conditions, relationships between the change in free energy, enthalpy and entropy can be described by the
expression where T is the temperature of the system in Kelvin.

ΔG= ΔH – TΔS

B. Equilibrium Constants

All spontaneous processes proceed until equilibrium is reached. Consider the following chemical
reaction.
A+B⇌C+D
The forward rate of product formation is = k [A][B] 1

The reverse rate of reactant formation is = k [C][D] 2

At equilibrium the concentrations of products and reactant are such that forward and reverse rates are equal:

K [A ][B ] = k [C ][D ] therefore,

1 eq eq 2 eq eq

At equilibrium ΔG = 0.

In biochemistry, the standard state concentration of reactant and products are initially set at 1 M,
the temperature is 298°K, the pressure is 1 atm, the pH is 7.0 and the concentration of water is 55M. The symbol
ΔG°’ and K’ are symbols used to represents that these are actually constants. AG°’ is a constant characteristic
eq

for each reaction just as K’ is a constant characteristic for each reaction. These two constants have a simple
eq

relationship.

The actual free energy change depends on the reactant and product concentrations.

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 MLS 064: Biochemistry
Module #8 Student Activity Sheet

Name: Class number: _______

_________________________________________________________________ Date:
Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________
________________________________________

Reactions can be coupled. The standard free energy changes are additive. Below is an example:

1. Glucose + Pi 🡪 glucose 6-phosphate + H2O ΔG°’ = 13.8 kJ/mol; K’eq = 3.9 x 10-3 M-1
2. ATP + H2O 🡪 ADP + Pi ΔG°’ = -30.5 kJ/mol; K’eq = 2 x 103 M

(Sum) ATP + glucose 🡪 glucose 6-phosphate + ADP ΔG°’ = 13.8 kJ/mol + -30.5 kJ/mol = -16.7 kj/mol
K’eq = (3.9x10-3 M-1) x (2x105 M) = 7.8x102

Standard Free Energy of Hydrolysis of Some Organophosphates of Biochemical Importance

ΔG 0′

Compound kJ/mol Kcal/mol

Phosphoenolpyruvate -61.9 -14.8
Carbamoyl phosphate -51.4 -12.3
1,3-biphosphoglycerate (to 3-phosphoglycerate) -49.3 -11.8
Creatine phosphate -43.1 -10.3
ATP 🡪 AMP + PP i -32.2 -7.7
ATP 🡪 ADP + P i -30.5 -7.3
Glucose 1-phosphate -20.9 -5.0
PP i -19.2 -4.6
Fructose 6-phosphate -15.9 -3.8
Glucose 6-phosphate -13.8 -3.3
Glycerol 3-phosphate -9.2 -2.2

POINTS TO REMEMBER!
ΔG ΔH ΔS
Represents Change in free energy. Change in enthalpy. Change in entropy.
Information Direction and extent of a Whether heat is given Level of disorder in system
given reaction off or absorbed
Affected by No No No
enzymes

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 MLS 064: Biochemistry
Module #8 Student Activity Sheet

Name: Class number: _______

_________________________________________________________________ Date:
Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________
________________________________________

If < 0 Exergonic reaction- will Exothermic reaction- Does not occur (except in isolated
proceed spontaneously. heat is given off. subsets of a system)
If = 0 System is at equilibrium. No change in heat. The components of the system
have neither absorbed nor given
off energy.
If > 0 Endergonic reaction- energy Endothermic Spontaneous reaction.
input necessary to drive reaction- heat is
reaction. absorbed.

C. Adenosine Triphosphate as an energy carrier

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is composed of the

nitrogenous base adenine, the sugar ribose, and three
phosphate groups.

Energy is stored in the phosphoanhydride bonds

between the three phosphate groups in ATP. This energy
is released by ATP hydrolysis, the chemical reaction in
which ATP reacts with water to yield adenosine
diphosphate (ADP) and an inorganic phosphate ion (P ). i

For every mole of ATP hydrolyzed, 7.3 kilocalories of

energy are released:
a. ATP + H2O → ADP + Pi
b. ΔG = -7.3 kcal/mol or -30.5 kJ/mol

Reactions or processes that have a large positive ΔG, such as moving ions against a concentration
gradient across a cell membrane, are made possible by coupling the endergonic movement of ions with a
second, spontaneous process with a large negative ΔG such as the exergonic hydrolysis of adenosine
triphosphate (ATP). Example below shows a mechanical model of energy coupling. The simplest example of
energy coupling in biologic reactions occurs when the energy requiring and the energy yielding reactions share
a common intermediate.

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 MLS 064: Biochemistry
Module #8 Student Activity Sheet

Name: Class number: _______

_________________________________________________________________ Date:
Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________
________________________________________

As an example, consider the

phosphorylation of the sugar glucose into
glucose 6-phosphate. This is the first step in
glycolysis, one of the most fundamental
processes for generating ATP in all organisms.
The direct addition of an inorganic phosphate
group to glucose will not occur spontaneously
because it involves a positive free energy
change (ΔG > 0) — it is endergonic. To
overcome this problem, cells couple glucose
phosphorylation to ATP hydrolysis through a
two-step process catalyzed by the enzyme
hexokinase. First, ATP is hydrolyzed into ADP
and an inorganic phosphate group. The
hydrolysis of ATP is exergonic, involving a
negative free energy change (ΔG < 0). The inorganic phosphate group released from the first reaction is then
transferred to glucose, forming glucose-6-phosphate. This initial investment of energy is needed to completely
break down glucose in later steps of glycolysis, which release more net energy.

D. The cycling of ATP

The exergonic hydrolysis of ATP is coupled to many, but not all, endergonic reactions in the cell. It fuels
the movement of muscles, the movement of molecules into and out of cells, chemical reactions, and more.
Humans use approximately 100 to 150 mol/L of ATP daily however, humans cannot this large amount of ATP in
their muscles, at most, humans store approximately one-minute’s worth of ATP. Obviously, ATP must be
regenerated continuously. The addition of an inorganic phosphate to ADP regenerates ATP. This reaction, the
phosphorylation of ADP, is endergonic and requires +7.3 kcal/mol of energy. (Note that the opposite reaction,
the hydrolysis of ATP, releases the same amount of energy.)

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 MLS 064: Biochemistry
Module #8 Student Activity Sheet

Name: Class number: _______

_________________________________________________________________ Date:
Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________
________________________________________

For most life forms, the energy required to

regenerate ATP comes from respiration of the
chemical energy initially stored during
photosynthesis; either the organism that did the
photosynthesis itself or an organism that consumed
the products of that photosynthesis uses this stored
energy. Some of the energy released by respiration
can be used to synthesize ATP. In turn, the
hydrolysis of ATP is coupled with energy-costing
processes. The regeneration of ATP is very quick
and efficient.

C. Other energy carrier

ATP is not the only energy carrier within cells. For example, creatine phosphate can release 9.6 kcal/mol,
and phosphoenolpyruvate can release 14.8 kcal/mol. If phosphoenolpyruvate can release almost twice as much
energy as ATP, then why hasn't phosphoenolpyruvate replaced ATP as the cell's main energy currency through
evolutionary time?

Efficiency is the key. Energy carriers are analogous to money in a system that does not give change.
When a cell "pays" more for a reaction than the reaction requires, any leftover energy is released as heat.
Suppose a particular endergonic reaction has a ΔG of +4.8 kcal/mol. If the cell pays for this reaction by
hydrolyzing ATP, an exergonic reaction with a negative ΔG of -7.3 kcal/mol, then the free energy difference of -
2.5 kcal/mol will be released as heat. If the cell pays for this reaction by hydrolyzing phosphoenolpyruvate, an
exergonic reaction that releases much more energy (ΔG = -14.8 kcal/mol), then -10 kcal/mol of energy — nearly
four times as much than if ATP were used — is released as heat instead. In other words, the higher-value
currency will not result in more work being done; it just means that more energy will be released as heat, rather
than being used for basic functions that sustain life. The beauty behind ATP is its utility, ease of use, and rapidity
of regeneration. Most reactions require less energy than the hydrolysis of ATP releases, so ATP is a very efficient
energy currency.

CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING

You will answer and rationalize this by yourself. This will be recorded as your quiz. One (1) point will be given to
correct answer and another one (1) point for the correct ratio. Superimpositions or erasures in you answer/ratio
is not allowed. You are given 25 minutes for this activity:

Multiple Choice

1. If enthalpy change for a reaction is zero, then ∆G° equals to _____________.

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 MLS 064: Biochemistry
Module #8 Student Activity Sheet

Name: Class number: _______

_________________________________________________________________ Date:
Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________
________________________________________

a. -T∆S°
b. T∆S°
c. -∆H°
d. K’eq

2. Which of the following statements is false?

a. The reaction tends to go in the forward direction if ∆G is large and positive.
b. The reaction tends to move in the backward direction if ∆G is large and negative.
c. The system is at equilibrium if ∆G = 0.
d. The reaction tends to move in the backward direction if ∆G is large and positive.

3. What is the relationship between ∆G and ∆G‘°?

a. ∆G = ∆G‘° + RTln([products]/[reactants])
b. ∆G = ∆G‘° – RTln([products]/[reactants])
c. ∆G = ∆G‘° – RTln([reactants]/[products])
d. ∆G = ∆G‘° + RTln([reactants]/[products])

4. If ∆G‘° of the reaction A → B is -40kJ/mol under standard conditions then the reaction ____________.
a. Will not occur spontaneously
b. Will never reach equilibrium
c. Will proceed from left to right spontaneously
d. Will proceed at a rapid rate

5. What does first law of thermodynamics state?

a. All living organisms are composed of cells.
b. Energy can neither be destroyed nor created.
c. Energy cannot be 100 percent efficiently transformed from one type to another.
d. Input of heat energy increases the rate of movement of atoms and molecules.

6. The relationship between K‘eq and ∆G‘° is?

a. ∆G‘° = RTlnK‘eq
b. ∆G‘° = -RTK‘eq
c. ∆G‘° = RK‘eq
d. ∆G‘° = -RK‘eq

7. The study of energy relationships and conversions in biological systems is called as ____________.
a. Biophysics
b. Bioenergetics
c. Microbiology
d. Biotechnology

8. Which of the following is INCORRECTLY matched?

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 MLS 064: Biochemistry
Module #8 Student Activity Sheet

Name: Class number: _______

_________________________________________________________________ Date:
Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________
________________________________________

a. <0: ∆G exergonic reaction.

b. >0: ∆G endergonic reaction.
c. ∆H: Affected by enzymes.
d. =0: ∆S Components are neither absorbed nor given off.

9. For a reaction if ∆G° is positive, then ____________.

a. The reactants will be favored.
b. The products will be favored.
c. The concentration of the reactants and products will be equal.
d. All of the reactant will be converted to products.

10. Which of following is true of ATP?

a. ATP contains base thymine, sugar ribose and three phosphate groups.
b. ATP contains base adenine, sugar ribose and two-phosphate group and one inorganic phosphate (Pi).
c. The free energy absorbed when ATP is hydrolyzed is used to drive reactions that require energy.
d. ADP can accept phosphate groups from compounds such as phosphocreatine, forming ATP.

RATIONALIZATION ACTIVITY (DURING THE FACE TO FACE INTERACTION WITH THE STUDENTS)
The instructor will now rationalize the answers to the students and will encourage them to ask questions and to
discuss among their classmates for 20 minutes.

1. ANSWER: ________
RATIO:_______________________________________________________________________________
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2. ANSWER: ________
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3. ANSWER: ________
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4. ANSWER: ________

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 MLS 064: Biochemistry
Module #8 Student Activity Sheet

Name: Class number: _______

_________________________________________________________________ Date:
Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________
________________________________________

RATIO:_______________________________________________________________________________
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5. ANSWER: ________
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6. ANSWER: ________
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7. ANSWER: ________
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8. ANSWER: ________
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9. ANSWER: ________
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10. ANSWER: ________

RATIO:_______________________________________________________________________________
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 MLS 064: Biochemistry
Module #8 Student Activity Sheet

Name: Class number: _______

_________________________________________________________________ Date:
Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________
________________________________________

C. LESSON WRAP-UP

AL: CAT: 3-2-1

1. Three things you learned
a. __________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
b. __________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
c. __________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

2. Two things that you would like to learn more about.

a. __________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
b. __________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

3. One questions you still have.

a. __________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

In today’s session: what was least clear to you?

You will now mark (encircle) the session you have finished today in the tracker below. This is simply a visual to
help you track how much work you have accomplished and how much work there is left to do.

You are done with the session! Let’s track your progress.

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