Chapter 9 & 10 Test Vocab Flashcards
(31 cards)
This is a catabolic pathway for organic molecules, using oxygen (O2) as the final electron acceptor in an electron transport chain and ultimately producing ATP.
Aerobic Respiration
This is the most efficient catabolic pathway and is carried out in most eukaryotic cells and many prokaryotic organisms.
Aerobic Respiration
This is a catabolic pathway in which inorganic molecules other than oxygen accept electrons at the “down-hill” end of electron transport chains.
Anaerobic Respiration
The catabolic pathways of aerobic and anaerobic respiration, which break down organic molecules and use an electron transport chain for the production of ATP.
Cellular Respiration
The complete or partial loss of electrons from a substance involved in a redox reaction.
Oxidation
The complete or partial addition of electrons to a substance involved in a redox reaction.
Reduction
A chemical reaction involving the complete or partial transfer of one or more electrons from one reactant to another.
Redox Reaction
An organic molecule serving as a cofactor. Most vitamins function as such in metabolic reactions.
Coenzyme
A sequence of electron carrier molecules (membrane proteins) that shuttle electrons down a series of redox reactions that release energy used to make ATP.
Electron Transport Chain
A coenzyme that cycles easily between oxidized (NAD+) and reduced (NADH) states, thus acting as an electron carrier.
NAD+
A chemical cycle involving eight steps that completes the metabolic breakdown of glucose molecules begun in glycolysis by oxidizing acetyl CoA (derived from pyruvate) to carbon dioxide; occurs within the mitochondrion in eukaryotic cells and in the cytosol of prokaryotes; together with pyruvate oxidation, the second major stage in cellular respiration.
Citric Acid Cycle
A series of reactions that ultimately splits glucose into pyruvate. It occurs in almost all living cells, serving as the starting point for fermentation or cellular respiration.
Glycolysis
An energy-coupling mechanism that uses energy stored in the form of a hydrogen ion gradient across a membrane to drive cellular work, such as the synthesis of ATP. This is usually responsible for ATP synthesis under aerobic conditions.
Chemiosmosis
A complex of several membrane proteins that functions in chemiosmosis with adjacent electron transport chains, using the energy of a hydrogen ion (proton) concentration gradient to make ATP. They are found in the inner mitochondrial membranes of eukaryotic cells and in the plasma membranes of prokaryotes.
ATP Synthase
An organism that obtains organic food molecules without eating other organisms or substances derived from other organisms. They use energy from the sun or from oxidation of inorganic substances to make organic molecules from inorganic ones.
Autotrophs
The initial incorporation of carbon from CO2 into an organic compound by an autotrophic organism.
Carbon Fixation
A green pigment located in membranes within the chloroplasts of plants and algae and in the membranes of certain prokaryotes.
Chlorophyll
A photosynthetic pigment that participates directly in the light reactions, which convert solar energy to chemical energy.
Chlorophyll A
An accessory photosynthetic pigment that transfers energy to chlorophyll a.
Chlorophyll B
An electron acceptor that, as NADPH, temporarily stores energized electrons produced during the light reactions.
NADP+
Leaf cells specialized for photosynthesis. In C3 and CAM plants, they are located between the upper and lower epidermis; in C4 plants, they are located between the bundle-sheath cells and the epidermis.
Mesophyll
The conversion of light energy to chemical energy that is stored in sugars or other organic compounds; occurs in algae, plants, and certain prokaryotes.
Photosynthesis
A quantum, or discrete quantity, of light energy that behaves as if it were a particle.
Photon
A light-capturing unit located in the thylakoid membrane of the chloroplast or in the membrane of some prokaryotes, consisting of a reaction-center complex surrounded by numerous light-harvesting complexes. There are two types, I and II, that absorb light best at different wavelengths.
Photosystem