6: Energy and Metabolism
- Page ID
- 73836
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- 6.3: Adenosine Triphosphate -ATP The Energy Currency of Cells
- Even exergonic, energy-releasing reactions require a small amount of activation energy in order to proceed. However, consider endergonic reactions, which require much more energy input, because their products have more free energy than their reactants. Within the cell, where does energy to power such reactions come from? The answer lies with an energy-supplying molecule called adenosine triphosphate, or ATP.
- 6.4: Enzymes- Biological Catalysts
- A substance that helps a chemical reaction to occur is a catalyst, and the special molecules that catalyze biochemical reactions are called enzymes. Almost all enzymes are proteins, made up of chains of amino acids, and they perform the critical task of lowering the activation energies of chemical reactions inside the cell. Enzymes do this by binding to the reactant molecules, and holding them in such a way as to make the chemical bond-breaking and bond-forming processes take place more readily.
- 6.5: Metabolism- The Chemical Description of Cell Function
- All living things must have an unceasing supply of energy and matter. The transformation of this energy and matter within the body is called metabolism.