UNIT 03-09.

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CATABOLIC PATHWAYS
BOOKNOTES
LIFE IS WORK

Where does the energy stored in

organic molecules ultimately come
from?
What form does energy exit the
ecosystem?

The energy stored in the organic molecules of

food ultimately comes from the sun.
Energy flows into an ecosystem as sunlight and
exits as heat.
Chemical elements essential to life are recycled

What products does

photosynthesis generate?
What process breaks down fuel
and generates ATP?

Photosynthesis generates oxygen and

organic molecules that are used by the
mitochondria of eukaryotes (plants &
algae) as fuel or cellular respiration.
o Respiration breaks this fuel down,
generating ATP.
Waste products of this type
of respiration, carbon dioxide
and water are the raw
materials for photosynthesis.

CATABOLIC PATHWAYS YIELD ENERGY BY

OXIDIZING ORGANIC FUELS:
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Define catabolic pathways.

CATABOLIC PATHWAYS:
Metabolic pathways that release stored
energy by breaking down complex
molecules.
CATABOLIC PATHWAYS & PRODUCTION OF
ATP

Compounds that participate in

what type of reaction can act as
fuel?
Define fermentation.

Define aerobic respiration.

Compounds that can participate in exergonic

reactions can act as fuels.
FERMENTATION:
A partial degradation of sugars or other
organic fuel that occurs without the use of
oxygen
AEROBIC RESPIRATION:
Oxygen is consumed as a reagent along
with the organic fuel- glucose.
- Food provides the fuel for respiration &
the exhaust is carbon dioxide and water.

Define anaerobic respiration.

Define cellular respiration.

What is the major source of
carbohydrates and what can it be
broken down into?

Why type of reaction is the

breakdown of glucose?

ANAEROBIC RESPIRATION:
Respiration w/o oxygen to harvest chemical
energy.
CELLULAR RESPIRATION:
Includes both aerobic and anaerobic
processes.
- Often used to refer to the aerobic
process.
Major source of carbohydrates is starch
storage polysaccharide that can be broken down
into glucose (C6H12O6) subunits.

The breakdown of glucose is exergonic

o G = -686 kcal/mol
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How do the catabolic pathways

that decompose glucose and other
organic fuels yield energy?

Define Redox reaction.

Negative G indicates that

the products of the chemical
process store less energy
than the reactants and that
the reaction can happen
spontaneously (no input of E)

REDOX REACTIONS: OXIDATION AND

REDUCTION
How do the catabolic pathways that decompose
glucose and other organic fuels yield energy?
The relocation of e-s release energy stored
in organic molecules, and this energy
ultimately is used to synthesize ATP.
THE PRINCIPLE OF REDOX

Define oxidation.

Define reduction.

REDOX REACTIONS:
(oxidation-reduction reactions)
A chemical reaction in which there is a
transfer of one or more e-s from one
reactant to another.
OXIDATION:
The loss of electrons from one
substance
REDUCTION:
The addition of electrons to a
substance
(adding negatively charged e-s to an
atom reduces the amount of positive
charge on that atom)

Define reducing agent.

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Define oxidizing agent.

What does an electron transfer
require?
REDUCING AGENT:
The electron donor
OXIDIZING AGENT:
The electron acceptor
An electron transfer requires both an electron
donor and acceptor oxidation and reduction
always go hand in hand.

What must be added to pull an

electron away from an atom?
When it comes to pulling electrons
away from an atom, what happens
when an atom is more
electronegative?
Energy must be added to pull an electron away
from an atom.
-

What is the greatest energy-

The more electronegative the atom (the

stronger its pull on electrons), the more
energy is required to take an electron
always from it.
o An electron loses potential energy
when it shifts from a less
electronegative atom toward a
more electronegative one.

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yielding redox process that affect
A redox reaction that moves electrons closer to
all of us?
oxygen, such as the burning (oxidation) of
methane, therefore releases chemical energy that
can be put to work.
Define respiration.
OXIDATION OF ORGANIC FUEL MOLECULES
DURING CELLULAR RESPIRATION
The greatest energy-yielding redox process that
affect all of us is respiration.

Organic molecules have an

abundance of what type of fuel
source?

RESPIRATION:
The oxidation of glucose and other
molecules in food.

What type of barrier holds back the

flood of electrons to a lower energy
state?

The fuel (glucose) is oxidized

Oxygen is reduced.
The electrons lose potential energy along
the way as energy is released.

Organic molecules that have an abundance of

hydrogen are excellent fuels b/c their bonds are a
source of hilltop electrons, whose energy may
be released as these electrons fall down an
energy gradient when they are transferred to
oxygen.
-

Cellular respiration rxn. Indicates that H

is transferred from glucose to oxygen.

The oxidation of glucose transfers e-s to

a lower energy state
o Liberates energy that becomes
available for ATP synthesis.

The barrier of activation energy holds back the

flood of electrons to a lower energy state.
-

W/o this barrier: a food substance like

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glucose will combine almost
Glucose is broken down in a series
instantaneously with oxygen.
of steps, each catalyzed by what?
- Body T is not enough to initiate burning,
instead if you swallow some glucose,
enzymes in your cells will lower the
Electrons travel with what in the
barrier of activation energy, allowing the
ETC?
sugar to be oxidized in a series of steps.
STEPWISE ENERGY HARVEST VIA NAD+ &
THE ELECTRON TRANSPORT CHAIN
Glucose is broken down in a series of steps,
each one catalyzed by an enzyme.
@ key steps e-s are stripped from glucose.
How does NAD+ trap electrons
from glucose & other molecules in
food?

Each electron travels with a proton (H

atom).
o H atoms are not transferred
directly to oxygen, usually passed
to an electron carrier, a coenzyme
called NAD+ (nicotinamide
adenine dinucleotide)

Well suited as an e- carrier

b/c it can cycle easily
between oxidized (NAD+)
and reduced (NADH) states.

How does NAD+ trap electrons from glucose &

other organic molecules in food?
Enzymes called dehydrogenases remove a
pair of hydrogen atoms (2 e-s and 2
protons) from the substrate, thereby
oxidizing it.
The NAD+ to NADH shows what?

What molecule is the most

versatile electron acceptor in

The enzyme delivers the 2 electrons along

with 1 proton to its coenzyme NAD+
The other proton is released as a hydrogen
ion (H+) into the surrounding solution.

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cellular respiration?
What does each NADH molecule
formed during respiration
represent?

By receiving 2 negatively charged e-s but

only 1 positive charged proton, NAD+ has
its charge neutralized and is reduced to
NADH.
The name NADH shows the hydrogen that
has been received in the reduction.

How do electrons that are

extracted from glucose and stored
as potential energy in NADH finally
reach oxygen?

NAD+ is the most versatile electron acceptor in

cellular respiration and functions in several of the
redox steps during the breakdown of glucose.
Each NADH molecule formed during respiration
represents stored energy.
-

How does cellular respiration bring

hydrogen and oxygen together to
form water?

Energy can be tapped to make ATP when

the electrons complete their fall in a
series of steps down an energy gradient
from NADH to oxygen.

How do electrons that are extracted from

glucose and stored as potential energy in NADH
finally reach oxygen?
Comparing the redox chemistry of cellular
respiration to a much simpler reaction:
The reaction between H gas and O
gas to form water.
Provides a spark for activation
energy, & the gases combine
explosively.
Explosion represents a
release of energy as the
electrons of H fall closer
to the electronegative
oxygen atoms.
Cellular respiration also brings hydrogen
and oxygen together to form water, but
there are 2 important differences:

o The hydrogen that reacts with the

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oxygen is derived from organic
molecules rather than H2
o Instead of occurring in one
explosive reaction, respiration uses
an electron transport chain to
break the fall of electrons to
oxygen into several energyreleasing steps.

Explain why NAD+ is an electron

shuttle?

Define electron transport chain.

The reduced form has an extra H, along with 2 es, bound to the carbon. There are different
numbers and positions of double bonds in the two
forms:
- The oxidized form has 2 double bonds in
the ring, while the reduced form has only
2.
- In the oxidized form there is a + charged
on the N, whereas in the reduced form it
is only sharing 3 electron pairs.
ELECTRON TRANSPORT CHAIN:
Consists of a number of molecules, mostly
proteins, built into the inner membrane of
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the mitochondria of eukaryotic cells. (&
plasma membrane of respiring prokaryotes)
Electrons removed from glucose are
shuttled by NADH to the top, higherenergy end, Oxygen captures these
electrons along with the hydrogen nuclei
(H+), forming water.
(prokaryotes have an electron acceptor at
the end of the chain that is different from
O2)

Is the reaction of electron transfer

from NADH to Oxygen exergonic or
endergonic?
Explain how energy is being
produced / processed in the
electron transport chain?

What is the final electron acceptor

in the electron transport chain?

Electron transfer from NADH to oxygen is an

exergonic reaction with G = -53 kcal/mol (222kj/mol)

Instead of this energy being released and

wasted in a single explosive step, electron
cascade down the chain from one carrier
molecule to the next in a series of redox
reactions, losing a small amount of energy with
each step until they finally reach oxygen, the
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terminal electron acceptor, which has a very
great affinity for electrons.
-

What are the stages in cellular

respiration?

Each downhill carrier is more

electronegative (capable of oxidizing)
than its uphill neighbor, with oxygen at
the bottom of the chain.
o e-s transferred from glucose to
NAD+ (reduced to NADH) fall down
an energy gradient in the electron
transport chain to a far more
stable location in the
electronegative oxygen atom.

Define glycolysis.

Define the citric acid cycle.

Oxygen pulls electrons down

the chain in an energyyielding tumble analogous to
gravity pulling objects
downhill.

SUMMARY:
During cellular respiration, most e-s travel
the following downhill route:
Glucose NADH electron transport chain
oxygen.
THE STAGES OF CELLULAR RESPIRATION: A
PREVIEW

Define oxidative phosphorylation.

GLYCOLYSIS:
Occurs in the cytosol, begins the
degradation process by breaking glucose
into 2 pyruvates
-

In eukaryotes pyruvate enters the

mitochondria and is oxidized into acetyl
CoA, which enters the citric acid cycle

CITRIC ACID CYCLE:

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The breakdown of glucose to carbon dioxide
is completed (prokaryotes occurs in
cytosol)
-

Define substrate-level
phosphorylation.

Involves 8 steps that completes the

metabolic breakdown of glucose
molecules begun in glycolysis by
oxidizing acetyl CoA (derived from
pyruvate) to carbon dioxide.
Occurs w/in the mitochondria in
eukaryotic cells.

The energy released at each step of the ETC is

stored in a form the mitochondrion can use to
make ATP from ADP.
OXIDATIVE PHOSPHORYLATION:
The production of ATP using energy derived
from the redox reactions of an electron
transport chain; the 3rd major stage of
cellular respiration.
(ETC & chemiosmosis)
- Accounts for almost 90% of the ATP
generated by respiration.

Define substrate molecule.

Do you think the energy in this is

higher for the reactants or product
in the reaction?

SUBSTRATE-LEVEL PHOSPHORYLATION:
The enzyme-catalyzed formation of ATP by
direct transfer of a phosphate group to ADP
from an intermediate substrate in

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catabolism.

For each molecule of glucose

degraded to carbon dioxide and
water, how many molecules of ATP
are made?
-

This mode of ATP synthesis occurs when

an enzyme transfers a phosphate group
from a substrate molecule to ADP, rather
than adding an inorganic phosphate to
ADP as in oxidative phosphorylation.

Substrate molecule:
Refers to an organic molecule
generated as an intermediate during
catabolism of glucose.

Concept Check 9.1:

1. Compare and contrast
aerobic and anaerobic
respiration.

2. WHAT IF? If the following

redox reaction occurred,
which compound would be
oxidized? Reduced?

Making connections:
Because there is no external source of energy for
the reaction, it must be exergonic, and the
reactants must be at a higher energy level than
the products.

+
+ C 4 H 4 O5 + NADH + H
C 4 H 6 O5 + NAD

For each molecule of glucose degraded to

carbon dioxide and water by respiration, the cell
makes up to about 32 molecules of ATP (each w/
7.3 kcal/mol of free energy)

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1. Both processes include glycolysis, the citric

acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation. In
aerobic respiration, the final electron
acceptor is molecular oxygen (O2); in
anaerobic respiration, the final electron
acceptor is a different substance.
2. C4H6O5 would be oxidized
NAD+ would be reduced.

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