Name: ___________________________________ Date: _________ Period: _________
ATP and ENERGY STORAGE
Key concepts:
Plants and some other types of organisms are able to use light energy from the sun to produce food.
Once glucose is in the body (either by photosynthesis or by eating) it can be use to make an energy
storage molecule called ATP from ADP + P.
The characteristics of ATP make it an exceptionally useful molecule that is used by all types of cells
as their basic energy source
Part I - What is ATP all about?
Use the following website to learn more about ATP:
http://www.biologyinmotion.com/atp/index.html
1. Where is energy stored in living things?
2. How does energy get converted from one form to another?
3. What does ATP stand for?
4. What do you think ADP stands for?
5. Energy is released when ATP is converted into what molecule?
6. Is ATP like the charged or uncharged form of a battery?
7. What does eating do to the ADP molecules?
8. What is your immediate source of energy in the body?
9. How do plants get glucose?
10. How do animals get glucose?
11. When you eat, large polymers such as polysaccharides and proteins are pulled apart into
monomers, like monosaccharides and amino acids. What is released when their bonds are broken?
12. Now drag the ice cream cone down onto the arrow to break the food molecules apart. What
happens to the ADP molecule and the P?
13. What is the new molecule called?
14. Now break the P off of the newly made ATP molecule, what kinds of things can be done in the
synthesis step? (read the paragraph again if needed)
15. Where does the energy to make ATP from ADP come from?
16. Where does the energy for cells to work come from?
17. Draw and ADP molecule in blue. Now, using red, make this same molecule ATP
Part II - Is ATP worth the investment?
ATP (adenosine tri-phosphate) can be thought of as the currency of the cell. Most cellular metabolic
processes require a certain amount of ATP in order to happen. Furthermore, during glycolysis and
cellular respiration when ATP is produced, ATP must be added or put in before more ATP can be
generated.
1.
Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbtqF9q_pFw
a.
What is ATP and How it works – BioVid Episode3
2.
Answer the following questions based on the video
a. What is the long name of ATP?
_________________________________________________________________
b. How many phosphates does ATP have? __________
c. What is ATP used for? ______________________________________________
d. How does ATP release its energy?
________________________________________________________________
e. After ATP is used, what does it become? How many phosphates does it now have?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
f. How is ADP Recharged into ATP? ____________________________________
________________________________________________________________
g. Using the internet, list three major cellular processes that ATP can be used for (and
make sure you understand what they mean!)
a.
__________________________________________________________
b.
__________________________________________________________
c.
__________________________________________________________
Part II a. Where does ATP come from?
In the business world, it costs money to make a product. Once the product is made, it can be sold for
a profit. The result is a return on investment. For example, if a toy costs $1.50 to make and is then
sold for $25.00, the return on investment is high (you make $23.50). It is worth it to keep making the
toy because you make a lot of money. However, if a toy costs $15.00 to make but can only be sold for
$17.00 in stores, the return on investment is low (you only profit $2.00 per toy). As a result, it may not
be worth the time and effort to make each toy if you only make 2 bucks. If you watch the show “Shark
Tank” you will notice that the sharks always ask about this to analyze whether or not the the business
will be successful and worth an investment.
Think of molecules of ATP as money used by cellular processes. How good is the return on
investment of ATP during cellular respiration? Use the information about Cellular Respiration below to
complete the chart.
The first step in cellular respiration is glycolysis (which means glucose splits). At first, 2 ATP are
invested to change glucose into other forms of sugar. As glycolysis continues, and one type of sugar
changes into the next, 2 ATP generated and again, as the final product forms (2 molecules of
pyruvate) another 2 ATP are generated.
During the second step (Krebs cycle), the 2 pyruvate molecules enter the mitochondria and oxygen is
used to change them into Acetyl-CoA. This releases a total of 8 ATP.
Finally, the products from the Kreb’s Cycle go to the inner membrane of the mitochondria (the
Electron Transport Chain) where about 28 ATP are generated with the help of ATP synthase (an
enzyme that helps add a phosphate to ADP to make ATP). Water is also a product of this phase.
Expense
Revenue
Step
Glycolysis: ATP invested
Glycolysis: ATP generated
Krebs Cycle: ATP generated
Electron Transport Chain: ATP
Generated
TOTAL
TOTAL
PROFIT (what you make – what
you put in)
1.
How much ATP did the cell invest?
2.
How much ATP profit did the cell make?
3.
Is it worth it for a cell to invest ATP to begin with? Why?
4.
Cellular Respiration occurs under Aerobic conditions. What does this mean?
Part II b. Anaerobic conditions
Not all cells can function in an aerobic (oxygen present) environment. Yet, they need ATP to carry out
their own cellular functions. Use the information below to complete the chart and determine the profit
of ATP for anaerobic organisms.
When oxygen is not present, cells must undergo anaerobic respiration in order to make ATP.
Glycolysis still happens like it was described above: glucose is split and converted from one type of
sugar to another. This uses 2 ATP to get things started, but 4 ATP are produced by the time the
glucose is turned into pyruvate.
Next, since there is no oxygen, the pyruvate can’t enter the mitochondria. This doesn’t generate any
ATP, but is important because it produces NADH (a less powerful energy molecule), which provides
enough energy to keep splitting additional glucose molecules.
Expense
Revenue
Step
Glycolysis: ATP
invested
Glycolysis: ATP
generated
TOTAL
TOTAL
PROFIT (What you
make – what you put
in)
1.
What is the ATP profit for an anaerobic organism?
2.
A new molecule has been produced in anaerobic processes – what is it?
3. Is an anaerobic process as profitable as an aerobic one? Use evidence from your chart to
explain why.