ATP and Energy

Energy Production
Energy is released through catabolic reactions occurring within the cell
Some of that energy is released as heat to maintain our body temperature

The body doesn’t just release it as heat though!

It has more effective ways of using and storing it
It uses chemical compounds as ‘batteries’ to store energy
The body’s preferred battery type is ATP. Though it also uses NADH, FADPH…
Batteries and ATP
ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) is like a full battery
It stores its energy in its phosphate bonds, particularly between the 2nd and 3rd phosphates
Rechargeable Batteries
When the cell requires energy, it releases it from an ATP molecule by breaking off the third
phosphate (this is a catabolic reaction releasing energy)
ATP without its third phosphate becomes ADP (Adenosine Diphosphate)
The catabolic reaction breaking down ATP to ADP is coupled with an energy consuming process
in the cell (examples of these come up in a minute) so that the energy can be transferred to a
useful function
Rechargeable Batteries
Once the ADP has been formed, the battery is on low and needs to be recharged!
Other catabolic processes in the cell (cellular respiration being the most important) that release
energy are coupled with ADP, so that the energy released can recharge the ADP to ATP
Cellular Respiration and ATP
Glycolysis of one glucose molecule creates 2 ATP molecules
Krebs Cycle processing creates 2 ATP molecules for each initial glucose
molecule
The Electron Transport Chain can produce up to 34 more ATP molecules from
ADP
ATP – ADP cycle
Is like an infinitely rechargeable battery
We turn over 75-150kg of ATP each day! That’s a lot of batteries!
Cellular Energy Use
Cells use energy for a variety of processes, including:
◦ Anabolic reactions
◦ Cell division and growth
◦ Moving organelles around the cell
◦ Moving a whole cell
◦ Active transport processes
◦ Maintaining cellular organisation
◦ Transmission of nerve signals
Remember that no process is 100% efficient, so a little heat is always lost in
the process! In fact we make use of that to maintain our body temperature.
Basal Metabolic Rate
This is the amount of energy consumed by the body at rest in order to maintain itself.
It is used to maintain breathing, circulation, brain, liver and kidney functions
It can be calculated by looking at breathing rates and oxygen consumption (because O2 is
consumed reliably in cellular respiration producing consistent amounts of energy)
For the ‘average’ female this is about 6000kJ, and 7000kJ for the ‘average’ male