Cells, Metabolism and Cellular Respiration
Metabolism is the term for the chemical reactions that
occur in your body.
All life forms are dependent on many hundreds of
simultaneous and precisely regulated metabolic
reactions to keep them alive.
Each of these reactions is triggered, controlled, and
terminated by specific enzymes, and each reaction is
coordinated with other reactions.
The most important metabolic reaction is:
Cellular Respiration
This process releases energy to the cell using food as a
fuel. The word equation is:
Food + oxygen -> water + CO2 + energy
Sugars and oxygen react together to produce carbon
dioxide and water with the release of chemical
energy.
More precisely, it is a biochemical process whereby
sugars and similar substances, resulting from the
digestion of food, are broken down in the presence of
oxygen to produce water, carbon dioxide, and ATP.
The reaction can be represented by the general
chemical equation:
C6H12O6 + 6O2 -> 6CO2 + 6H2O + energy(ATP)
Without respiration, cells would be lifeless.
The ATP produced powers the processes of life:
 Growth
 Movement
 Response
 Excretion
 Reproduction etc