Aerobic respiration is the release of energy from glucose or another organic substrate in the presence of Oxygen.

Strictly speaking aerobic means in air, but it is the Oxygen in the air which is necessary for aerobic respiration. Anaerobic respiration is in the absence of air. Here is a molecular model of a glucose molecule. You do not need to memorize the diagram for you GCSE exam, but it should help you to understand that a molecule of glucose contains six atoms of Carbon (shown in blue), twelve atoms of Hydrogen (shown in green), and six atoms of Oxygen (shown in red).

In our tissues glucose can be broken down to release energy. The energy is used to make a substance called Adenosine Tri-Phosphate or ATP as it is usually called. ATP can provide energy for other processes such as muscle contractions. Here is a balanced chemical equation for the process of aerobic respiration. You only need to memorise this for the Higher Tier GCSE paper, however I am sure that you really want a grade "A" so why not memorise it.

You should be able to see six carbon atoms on each side of the equation; One molecule of glucose contains six atoms of Carbon and six molecules of Carbon Dioxide each contain one atom of Carbon.

You should also be able to see that the Hydrogen is balanced. One molecule of Glucose contains twelve atoms of Hydrogen and six molecules of water each contain two atoms of Oxygen. Now look at the Oxygen. To make six molecules of Carbon Dioxide we need twelve atoms of Oxygen and to make six molecules of water we need another six atoms of Oxygen. That makes a total of eighteen atoms of Oxygen. The glucose already contains six atoms of Oxygen so the cell will need a further six molecules of Oxygen from the air. The basic minimum knowledge for GCSE biology is the word equation given below. Even if you don't understand it you can memorise it like a parrot. Glucose + Oxygen = Carbon Dioxide + Water + Energy Aerobic respiration takes place in almost all living things. It is easy to get rid of the Carbon Dioxide and excess water; this is excretion (the removal of the toxic waste products of metabolism), and maximum energy is released from the glucose. Some organisms can respire in the absence of air: this is anaerobic respiration. This does not release so much energy and it produces much more toxic waste products. However, if Oxygen is not available, anaerobic respiration is better than nothing. When this happens in our muscles we produce lactic acid which gives you cramp. The bacteria in milk produce the same chemical when they turn it sour. "Lactic" means "of milk". So lactic acid is the acid in sour milk. Yeasts produce alcohol which is also toxic. Eventually there will be so much alcohol that the yeast cannot survive. _____________________________________________________________ The model for aerobic respiration is the oxidation of the glucose molecule: (1) C6H12O6 + 6 O2 + 6 H2O + 38 ADP +38 P 6 CO2 + 12 H2O + 38 ATP + 420 Kcal This equation has an oxidation component, (2) C6H12O6 6 CO2 And a reduction component: (3) 6 O2 6 H2O Aerobic respiration has four stages

1. 2.

Glycolysis Process occurs in the cytoplasm; A six-carbon glucose molecule is converted to two, 3-carbon molecules of pyruvate This process occurs in the cytoplasm. In order to initiate the process, 2 molecules of ATP are consumed. Four molecules of ATP and 2 molecules of NADH are produced; Formation of acetyl coenzyme A Process involves shuttling pyruvate molecules into mitochondrion Each pyruvate molecules is oxidized to carbon dioxide and a 2carbon acetyl group. The carbon dioxide is released as a waste product, and the 2carbon acetyl group is bound to coenzyme A and brought into the mitochondrion; The citric acid cycle Each of the 2-carbon acetyl groups produced from the original glucose molecule is bonded to a pre-existing molecule of oxaloacetate to form citrate (i.e. citric acid). These two citric acid molecules are gradually oxidized, and the hydrogen ions are bound to NAD to form NADH and to FAD to form FADH2. Oxaloacetate is produced when the last carbon atom is released in the form of carbon dioxide; Two ATP molecules are synthesized for each glucose molecule entering the cell. Electron transport chain and chemiosmosis The electrons removed from the molecules in glycolysis and citric acid follow a series of cytochromes on the mitochondrial membrane, Hydrogen ions (protons) are pumped across the inner membrane of the mitochondrion.

3.

4.

These protons flow through ATP synthase enzyme molecules, and thereby release energy which drives the formation of 34 ATP molecules.

_____________________________________________________________ Aerobic respiration is the cellular processing of energy-rich molecules, primarily glucose, are converted into carbon dioxide and water through oxidation, and the released energy is subsequently used to support life processes in the form of ATP. Unlike the oxidation of a fire or other nonorganic processes, aerobic respiration is a carefully-controlled process that works in gradated steps. Aerobic respiration in almost every organic cell involves first the breakdown of complex sugars and carbohydrates into glucose, the simplest sugar. In mitochondria, glucose reacts with oxygen to create water, carbon dioxide, and energy. In the Krebs cycle, the energy is captured in the easily-broken, high-energy phosphoanhydride bonds of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Once ATP is carried to appropriate spots in the cell, it is hydrolyzed. The addition of water breaks the bonds and releases energy, which enables cellular processes to go on. Waste products from aerobic respiration include carbon dioxide and water, which are released in exhaled air, sweat, and urine in animals, and are exhaled into the air through the many surfaces of plants. Overall, aerobic respiration is more efficient than most forms of anaerobic metabolism, such as fermentation. All prokaryotic cells use aerobic respiration to fuel their critical functions. _____________________________________________________________