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A223 Biochemistry L01: Something’s Brewing: Worksheet

A223 Biochemistry
L01: Something’s Brewing

1. Fueling life…

Answer the following questions based on link 1 and link 2 [Accessible August 2023]

a. What is metabolism?
Metabolism is the chemical reaction in the body’s cells that change food into energy.

b. What are anabolism and catabolism?

Anabolism is the synthesis of smaller molecules into larger molecules while catabolism is
the breakdown of larger molecules into simpler substances.

c. What are metabolic pathways?

Metabolic pathways are sequences of chemical reactions undergone by a

compound or class of compounds in a living organism.

d. What are the six major types of reactions found in metabolic pathways?
The six major types of reactions found in metabolic pathways are the group transfer reactions,
formation or removal of carbon-carbon double bonds, isomerization reactions, ligation
reactions, hydrolysis reactions and oxidation-reduction reactions.

e. Metabolic pathways can be linear or cyclic (circular), as shown in Error: Reference source
not found1 below.

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A223 Biochemistry L01: Something’s Brewing: Worksheet

Figure 1: Linear and cyclic metabolic pathways

 Fill in the blanks to differentiate linear and cyclic metabolic pathways from each other.
____Linear metabolic ____ pathways start with a substrate and end with a product
through a simple series of defined chemical modification steps.
The key aspect of _____metabolic _____ processes is that each chemical member of
the cycle is regenerated at the same rate it is consumed.

 With reference to Figure 1, fill in the table below (using letters A – F and E1 – E4).

Table 1: Metabolites in Pathways

The substrate or This substance is a This substance is an Final products of

reactant at the product formed and then, it enzyme that the pathway
start of the becomes a reactant or catalyzes a step in
pathway substrate in subsequent the pathway.
step of the pathway.
B E1 E,F
A

2. Energy Extraction
Living cells are in a state of continuous metabolism. Carbohydrates are an important source
of the energy that drives these reactions.

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A223 Biochemistry L01: Something’s Brewing: Worksheet

Figure 2: Food consumed by humans

a. Figure 2 shows some of the foods we eat. During digestion, complex food molecules are
broken down into their basic units. Watch the video below and fill in Table 2.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxNpXO8gGFM [Accessible August 2023]

Table 2: From Polymers to Monomers

Complex Food molecule Basic Units

Carbohydrates Glucose
Proteins Amino acids
Fats (Lipids) Fatty acids and glycerol

b. After digestion, the small organic molecules derived from food enter the cytosol of cells. If
cellular energy reserves are low, glucose is degraded by the glycolytic pathway. (Greek:
glukus – sweet (sugar); lusis – loosening, melting). Glycolysis is an ancient pathway found
in almost all organisms.

Examine the below figure and watch this video [Accessible August 2023] to understand the
glycolysis process.

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A223 Biochemistry L01: Something’s Brewing: Worksheet

Note:

Represents a phosphate group

Figure 3: Glycolysis

i. In glycolysis, what is the molecule that glucose is converted into, as the final product in
this pathway? The final product in this pathway is pyruvate.

ii. How is energy produced in glycolysis?

In glycolysis, energy is produced in the form of ATP through the process of substrate-level
phosphorylation and indirectly by oxidative phosphorylation.

iii. Complete the overall chemical reaction of glycolysis, by filling in the appropriate
numbers.

1 Glucose + _2 NAD+ + _2ADP + 2_ Pi 2_ pyruvate + _2 ATP + _2 NADH + _2

H+

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A223 Biochemistry L01: Something’s Brewing: Worksheet

3. Moving On
For most animal and plant cells, glycolysis is only a prelude to a final stage in which
pyruvate formed at the last stage of glycolysis is rapidly transported into the mitochondria
where it is completely oxidized to CO2 and H2O (aerobic respiration).

In contrast, for many anaerobic organisms—which do not utilize molecular oxygen and
can grow and divide without it—glycolysis is the principal source of the cell's ATP. This is
also true for certain animal tissues, such as skeletal muscle, that can continue to function
when molecular oxygen is limiting.

Under anaerobic conditions, the pyruvate and the NADH electrons stay in the cytosol. The
pyruvate is converted into products excreted from the cell. The purpose of fermentation is
to clear the pyruvate and to oxidize NADH back into NAD+, which is used again in
glycolysis with another glucose. This is shown below in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Further metabolism of pyruvate

i. In the 2 pathways, identify the different criteria for the conversion of pyruvic acid by
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A223 Biochemistry L01: Something’s Brewing: Worksheet

filling in the table below:

Note: You may refer to these resources (link1, link2) [Accessible August 2023]

Table 3: Pathways of further metabolism of pyruvate

Conversion of Pyruvic Conversion of Pyruvic acid to Ethanol

acid to lactic acid
Organism or tissue Animals Plants
in which the
conversion occurs
Type of reaction Oxidation
which describes
the change of
NADH to NAD+
Enzyme(s) Lactate Pyruate decarboxylase
involved in dehydrogenase
conversion(s)

Purpose of It allows glucose to be It reduces NADH to NAD so that NAD can

carrying out this continuously broken be used in plants.
conversion in the down to make
organism or tissue adenosine
triphosphate due to
the breaking down of
NAD into NADH+
Products of NAD and lactic acid Acetaldehyde acid and carbon dioxide
fermentation

4. Relating back to the problem statement …

Figure 5: 8000 year old jars containing traces of beer found in archeological site

• You may watch this video [Accessible August 2023] to see how beer is made.

• Read the following link [Accessible August 2023] to understand what is malt?

a. Fill in Table 44 below that shows some biomolecules in malt.

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A223 Biochemistry L01: Something’s Brewing: Worksheet

Table 4: Biomolecules in malt

Biomolecule Name Description

Glucose Glucose is a key energy
source and it is the core
of structure in the
carbohydrates. It has two
isomers, maltose and
fructose.

Maltose Maltose is a
carbohydrate that is
made out of two glucose
units.

Starch Starch is a carbohydrate

that is made out of more
than 2 glucose units.

Which biomolecule class do the above biomolecules belong to? Explain your reasoning.
(Note: You may refer to the this link to identify the correct class and to rule out other classes.)

b. Draw a rough schematic of the metabolic pathway that yeast undergoes in the process of
beer formation.

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A223 Biochemistry L01: Something’s Brewing: Worksheet

c. Which of the products of fermentation are important for the taste and texture of beer?
Carbon dioxide and ethanol

d. Other than beer production, what are some of the industrial applications of fermentation?
Fermentation is used in waste management such as biofuels.

5. Packaging Energy
a. Food and energy.

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A223 Biochemistry L01: Something’s Brewing: Worksheet

(a) (b)

Figure 6: Two types of food

i. Figure 6 shows two common types of food which can provide energy upon
digestion. What is the unit to measure energy in the food?
The unit to measure energy in the food is the calorie.

ii. What are the biomolecules in (a) and (b) which contribute to the energy?
The biomolecules which contribute to the energy are glucose and starch.

iii. Where does the energy come from the biomolecules?

The energy comes from adenosine triphosphate.

b. Fill in Table 5 below that shows some examples of processes that release energy.

Table 5: Some examples of processes that release energy

Valcano eruption Burning fuel Breaking down food

Type of energy ATP and NADH

released
Mode of release (all All at once
at once or slowly?)
Can it be No Yes
controlled?
(Yes/No?)

2) Burning fuel involves a reaction with oxygen which breaks down chemical bonds to release
energy and carbon dioxide.
How does the breakdown of carbohydrates in human body differ from burning fuel in a car
in term of the amount of energy released over time?

6. Going Further:
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A223 Biochemistry L01: Something’s Brewing: Worksheet

In our muscles, when there is insufficient amount of oxygen or when they are contracting
very quickly for a long period of time, the muscle cells convert pyruvate to lactate, as
shown in Figure 7.

Step 1

Figure 7: Generation of ATP when oxygen is insufficient in muscle cells

a. At which step (1 or 2) is ATP molecules produced?

b. Explain why do cells need to convert pyruvate to lactate.
c. Explain how does prolonged exertion lead to the formation of soreness and cramps in
muscles?

~End of Worksheet~

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