Show Me the ATP
ATP is often called the energy 'currency' of the cell. What do the letters ATP actually stand for?
What is Adenosine Triphosphate?
This green pigment found inside plant cells is responsible for absorbing sunlight to power photosynthesis.
What is chlorophyll?
While photosynthesis stores energy in glucose, cellular respiration does the opposite by breaking down glucose to release this type of cellular energy molecule
What is ATP?
"Because fermentation happens entirely without oxygen, it is given this scientific name, which means 'without air
What is anaerobic?
Often called the basic building block of life, all living organisms are made of one or more of these.
What is a cell?
ATP is made of three main parts: a nitrogenous base called adenine, a 5-carbon sugar called ribose, and a chain of how many phosphate groups?"
What is three?
Photosynthesis doesn't just happen anywhere—it takes place inside this specific, oval-shaped green organelle
What is the chloroplast?
Cellular respiration kicks off with a stage called Glycolysis, where glucose is chopped in half. Surprisingly, this first step doesn't happen in the mitochondria at all—it happens out here in this fluid of the cel
What is the cytoplasm?
When you are sprinting hard and your muscle cells run out of oxygen, they switch to fermentation and produce this specific byproduct, which makes your muscles feel like they are burning.
What is lactic acid?
In a eukaryotic cell, this large central organelle acts as the brain, protecting and storing the cell's DNA.
What is the nucleus?
To release energy for cellular work, a chemical bond must be broken. Energy is released from ATP when this specific bond is snapped off
What is the bond between the second and third phosphate groups?
Photosynthesis is split into two main stages. This first stage takes place in the thylakoid membranes and absolutely requires solar energy to split water molecules
What are the light-dependent reactions
"Because the main stages of cellular respiration in the mitochondria require oxygen to run, it is given this specific scientific name meaning 'with oxygen
What is aerobic?
Yeast cells perform a different kind of fermentation. They produce carbon dioxide gas and this substance, which is used to make bread rise and create certain beverages.
What is alcohol fermentation
This famous double-helix molecule contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all living organisms.
What is DNA?
ATP loses a phosphate group and releases its energy, it becomes a lower-energy molecule with only two phosphates, known by this 3-letter abbreviation
What is ADP?
Named after the scientist who discovered it, this second stage of photosynthesis takes place in the stroma and uses carbon dioxide to build glucose
What is the Calvin Cycle?
Once inside the matrix of the mitochondria, the broken-down pieces of glucose enter this famous, continuous cycle that releases carbon dioxide and charges up electron carriers
What is the Krebs Cycle?
Without oxygen, the mitochondria shuts down. Because of this, fermentation only yields a tiny amount of energy per glucose molecule—specifically, this exact number of ATP.
What is 2 ATP?
This flexible outer layer surrounds all cells, deciding exactly what gets to enter and leave to maintain homeostasis.
What is the cell membrane?
While ATP is known for storing energy, biologically speaking, it belongs to this specific macromolecule group because it is made of a sugar Phosphate and base.
What is a Nucleic Acid?
During the light reactions, water ($H_2O$) is split apart. The hydrogen ions are kept for energy, but this gas is released into the atmosphere as a 'waste product'—which is lucky for us, since we need to breathe it
What is oxygen
This grand finale stage of cellular respiration takes place on the inner membrane (cristae) of the mitochondria and produces the absolute most ATP—around 32 to 34 molecules
What is the Electron Transport Chain?
Fermentation itself doesn't actually make any ATP at all! Its entire structural purpose is to recycle electron carriers so that this initial, cytoplasm-based step of cellular respiration can keep running over and over again.
What is Glycolysis?
Proteins are the workhorses of the cell. This specific type of protein acts as a biological catalyst, speeding up chemical reactions without being used up
What is an enzyme?