Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
REGION VIII – EASTERN VISAYAS
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF CATBALOGAN CITY

LEARNER’S ACTIVITY SHEET IN GRADE 11 GENERAL BIOLOGY 1 FOR QUARTER 4, WEEK 2

Name: Grade & Section:

School: Teacher: ERIBERTO A. VIROS

General Reminders: Use this activity sheet with care. Do not put unnecessary mark/s on any part
of the activity sheet. Use a separate sheet of paper in answering the exercises. Read the directions
carefully before doing each task. Return this activity sheet to your teacher/facilitator once you are
through with it.

Learning Objectives:
After going through this module, you are expected to:
1. Explain coupled reaction processes and describe the role of ATP in energy coupling and transfer.
2. Describe ATP’s role as the cellular energy currency
3. Infer that ATP is important in maintaining cellular functions of an organism.

LESSON 1: Coupled Reaction Processes

I. EXPLORE

ACTIVITY 1.
Instruction: Describe the function/s or the processes involved in the parts of the chloroplast.
 I. Learn
COUPLED REACTION PROCESSES

Introduction

A cell can be thought of as a small, bustling town. Carrier proteins move substances into and
out of the cell, motor proteins carry cargoes along microtubule tracks, and metabolic enzymes busily
break down and build up macromolecules.

Even if they would not be energetically favorable (energy-releasing, or exergonic) in isolation,

these processes will continue merrily along if there is energy available to power them (much as
business will continue to be done in a town as long as there is money flowing in). However, if the
energy runs out, the reactions will grind to a halt, and the cell will begin to die.

ATP structure and hydrolysis

Adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, is a small, relatively simple molecule. It can be thought of as

the main energy currency of cells, much as money is the main economic currency of human societies.
The energy released by hydrolysis (breakdown) of ATP is used to power many energy-requiring cellular
reactions.

Why are the phosphoanhydride bonds considered high-energy? All this really means is that an
appreciable amount of energy is released when one of these bonds is broken in a hydrolysis (water-
mediated breakdown) reaction. ATP is hydrolyzed to ADP in the following reaction:

ATP+H2O⇋ADP+Pi+energy
Note: Pi just stands for an inorganic phosphate group

Like most chemical reactions, the hydrolysis of ATP to ADP is reversible. The reverse reaction,
which regenerates ATP from ADP and Pi requires energy. Regeneration of ATP is important because
cells tend to use up (hydrolyze) ATP molecules very quickly and rely on replacement ATP being
constantly produced.

You can think of ATP and ADP as being sort of like the charged and uncharged forms of a
rechargeable battery (as shown above). ATP, the charged battery, has energy that can be used to
power cellular reactions. Once the energy has been used up, the uncharged battery (ADP) must be
recharged before it can again be used as a power source. The ATP regeneration reaction is just the
reverse of the hydrolysis reaction:

energy+ADP+Pi⇋ATP+H2O

Reaction coupling

How is the energy released by ATP hydrolysis used to power other reactions in a cell? In most
cases, cells use a strategy called reaction coupling, in which an energetically favorable reaction (like
ATP hydrolysis) is directly linked with an energetically unfavorable (endergonic) reaction. The linking
often happens through a shared intermediate, meaning that a product of one reaction is “picked up”
and used as a reactant in the second reaction.
ATP in reaction coupling

When reaction coupling involves ATP, the shared intermediate is often a phosphorylated
molecule (a molecule to which one of the phosphate groups of ATP has been attached). As an example
of how this works, let’s look at the formation of sucrose, or table sugar, from glucose and fructose3,4

Case study: Let's make sucrose!

The formation of sucrose requires an input of energy: its ΔG is about +27 Kj/mol (under
standard conditions). ATP hydrolysis has a ΔG around -30 kj/mol under standard conditions, so it
can release enough energy to “pay” for the synthesis of a sucrose molecule

• In the first reaction, a phosphate group is transferred from ATP to glucose, forming a
phosphorylated glucose intermediate (glucose-P). This is an energetically favorable (energy-
releasing) reaction because ATP is so unstable, i.e., really "wants" to lose its phosphate
group.

• In the second reaction, the glucose-P intermediate reacts with fructose to form sucrose.
Because glucose-P is relatively unstable (thanks to its attached phosphate group), this
reaction also releases energy and is spontaneous.

Uncoupled Reaction

Coupled Reaction

This example shows how reaction coupling involving ATP can work through phosphorylation,
breaking a reaction down into two energetically favored steps connected by a phosphorylated
(phosphate-bearing) intermediate. This strategy is used in many metabolic pathways in the cell,
providing a way for the energy released by converting ATP to ADP to drive other reactions forward.
Different types of reaction coupling in the cell

The example above shows how ATP hydrolysis can be coupled to a biosynthetic reaction.
However, ATP hydrolysis can also be coupled to other classes of cellular reactions, such as the shape
changes of proteins that transport other molecules into or out of the cell.

Case study: Sodium-potassium pump

It’s energetically unfavorable to move sodium Na+ out of, or potassium K+ into, a typical cell,
because this movement is against the concentration gradients of the ions. ATP provides energy for
the transport of sodium and potassium by way of a membrane-embedded protein called the sodium-
potassium pump (Na+/K+ pump).

In this process, ATP transfers one of its phosphate groups to the pump protein, forming ADP
and a phosphorylated “intermediate” form of the pump. The phosphorylated pump is unstable in its
original conformation (facing the inside of the cell), so it becomes more stable by changing shape,
opening towards the outside of the cell and releasing sodium ions outside. When extracellular
potassium ions bind to the phosphorylated pump, they trigger the removal of the phosphate group,
making the protein unstable in its outward-facing form. The protein will then become more stable by
returning to its original shape, releasing the potassium ions inside the cell.

ATP is the major 'energy' molecule produced by metabolism, and it serves as a sort of 'energy
source' in cell: ATP is dispatched to wherever a non-spontaneous reaction needs to occurs so that the
two reactions are coupled so that the overall reaction is thermodynamically favored.

ACTIVITY 2.

Instruction: 1. Use the diagram below to explain the coupled reaction process. Note some important
events that took place during the process.
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WRAP-UP

Activity 3. Simulate a diagram showing the differences between an endergonic and an exorgonic
reaction. Be able to explain the processes in relation to coupling reactions.

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Activity 4. Cells make endergonic reactions happen by supplying them free energy released by
exergonic reactions. Using the diagram given below, describe the changes that happen along the
process of energy coupling. Write your answers inside each box.
ACTIVITY 5. Recognize the concepts for the following key term/s by describing the processes related
to it.

1. Substrate level phosphorylation

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2. Oxidative Phosphorylation –
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3.ATP Hydrolysis -
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4. Glycolysis -
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VALUING

Nearly all of the energy used by living cells comes from the energy in the bonds of the sugar
glucose. As glycolysis takes place in the cytoplasm of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, it is
probably one of the earlier metabolic pathways to evolve since it is used by nearly all the organisms
on Earth. As discussed, why are coupled reactions important in the process of glycolysis?
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III. Assessment

Multiple Choice.
Directions: Read each item carefully and choose the letter of the correct answer. Use separate
answer sheet of paper.

1. The body performs many processes that depend upon energy and could not occur without a supply
of ATP. How does the energy from ATP power the cellular reactions?
a. The cellular processes are coupled to hydrolysis of ATP, an exergonic process
b. Cellular processes are coupled to hydrolysis of ATP, an endergonic process
c. Energy from ATP hydrolysis is stored in cellular chambers
d. ATP hydrolysis absorbs the remaining energy from formation of glucose-6- phosphate

2. Which of the following would you expect to have a high phosphate group transfer potential?
a. ATP b. GMP c. ADP d. Phosphoric acid
3. ΔG for an exothermic reaction has a:
a. value lesser than 0
b. value greater than 0
c. value equal to 0
d. A value that varies with the temperature of the reaction

4. When we digest food and use it to produce energy, we convert a few large, complex molecules into
many small, simple molecules. Under these circumstances,
a. Entropy increases
b. Entropy decreases
c. Entropy does not change
d. Entropy rises, then falls

5. Respiration may be represented by the reaction:

C6H12O6 + 6O2 → 6CO2 + 6H2O ΔH for the overall reaction is 2802.1 kJ/mol.
Photosynthesis is the reverse: 6CO2 + 6H2O → C6H12O6 + 6O2 ΔH for the
overall reaction of photosynthesis is:
a. 2802.1 kJ/mol
b. -2802.1 kJ/mol
c. -304.7 kcal/mol
d. 304.7 kcal/mo