CHAPTER 6

How Cells Harvest Chemical Energy

Chapter Objectives
Opening Essay
Explain why brown fat is important to small mammals, including newborn humans.

Cellular Respiration: Aerobic Harvesting of Energy

6.1 Compare the processes and locations of cellular respiration and photosynthesis.
Explain why it is accurate to say that life on Earth is solar-powered.
6.2 Explain how breathing and cellular respiration are related.
6.3 Provide the overall chemical equation for cellular respiration. Compare the
efficiency of this process in cells to the efficiency of a gasoline automobile engine.
6.4 Explain how the human body uses its daily supply of ATP.
6.4 Define a kilocalorie and relate it to a food calorie.
6.5 Explain how the energy in a glucose molecule is released during cellular
respiration.
6.5 Explain how redox reactions are used in cellular respiration.
6.5 Describe the general roles of dehydrogenase, NADH, the electron transport
chain, and oxygen in cellular respiration.

Stages of Cellular Respiration

6.6 List the cellular regions where glycolysis, the citric acid cycle, and oxidative
phosphorylation occur. Note whether substrate-level phosphorylation or
chemiosmosis occur at each of these sites.
6.7–6.12 Compare the reactants, products, and energy yield of the three stages of cellular
respiration.
6.11 Explain how brown fat is specialized for heat production.
6.11 Describe the evidence that suggests that brown fat is present and functioning in
adult humans.
6.12 Identify the total yield of ATP molecules per glucose. Explain why the number
of ATP molecules cannot be stated exactly.

Fermentation: Anaerobic Harvesting of Energy

6.13 Compare the reactants, products, and energy yield of alcohol and lactic acid
fermentation. Distinguish between strict anaerobes and facultative anaerobes.
6.14 Describe the evolutionary history of glycolysis.

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 67

Connections Between Metabolic Pathways
6.15 Explain how carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are used as fuel for cellular
respiration. Explain why a gram of fat yields more ATP than a gram of starch
or protein.
6.16 Explain how nutrients are used in biosynthesis.

Lecture Outline
I. Introduction
A. Oxygen is a reactant in cellular respiration, the process that breaks down sugar and other
food molecules and generates ATP, the energy currency in cells, and heat.
B. Brown fat has a “short circuit” in its cellular respiration, which generates only heat, not
ATP.
C. Brown fat is important for heat production in small mammals, including humans.
II. Cellular Respiration: Aerobic Harvesting of Energy
A. 6.1 Photosynthesis and cellular respiration provide energy for life
1. Life requires energy.
2. In almost all ecosystems, energy ultimately comes from the sun.
3. In photosynthesis,
a. some of the energy in sunlight is captured by chloroplasts,
b. atoms of carbon dioxide and water are rearranged, and
c. sugar and oxygen are produced.
4. In cellular respiration,
a. sugar is broken down to carbon dioxide and water and
b. the cell captures some of the released energy to make ATP.
5. Cellular respiration takes place in the mitochondria of eukaryotic cells.
a. In those energy conversions, some energy is lost as heat.
B. 6.2 Breathing supplies O2 for use in cellular respiration and removes CO2
1. Respiration, as it relates to breathing, and cellular respiration are not the same.
a. Respiration, in the breathing sense, refers to an exchange of gases. Usually an
organism brings in oxygen from the environment and releases waste CO2.
b. Cellular respiration is the aerobic (oxygen-requiring) harvesting of energy from
food molecules by cells.
C. 6.3 Cellular respiration banks energy in ATP molecules
1. Cellular respiration is an exergonic (energy-releasing) process that transfers energy
from the bonds in glucose to form ATP.
2. Cellular respiration
a. can produce up to 32 ATP molecules for each glucose molecule,
b. uses about 34% of the energy originally stored in glucose, and
c. releases the other 66% as heat.
3. This energy conversion efficiency is better than most energy conversion systems.
a. Only about 25% of the energy in gasoline produces the kinetic energy of movement.
D. 6.4 CONNECTION: The human body uses energy from ATP for all its activities
1. Your body requires a continuous supply of energy just to stay alive—to keep your
heart pumping and you breathing.

68 INSTRUCTOR GUIDE FOR CAMPBELL BIOLOGY: CONCEPTS & CONNECTIONS Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
 2. A kilocalorie (kcal) is
a. the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram (kg) of water
by 1oC,
b. the same as a food calorie, and
c. used to measure the nutritional values indicated on food labels.
3. The average adult human needs about 2,200 kcal of energy per day.
a. About 75% of these calories is used to maintain a healthy body.
b. The remaining 25% is used to power physical activities.
4. A balance of energy intake and expenditure is required to maintain a healthy weight.
E. 6.5 Cells capture energy from electrons “falling” from organic fuels to oxygen
1. How do your cells extract energy from glucose?
2. The answer involves the transfer of electrons during chemical reactions.
3. During cellular respiration,
a. electrons are transferred from glucose to oxygen and
b. energy is released.
4. Oxygen attracts electrons very strongly.
5. An electron loses potential energy when it is transferred to oxygen.
6. Energy can be released from glucose by simply burning it.
7. This electron “fall” happens very rapidly.
8. This energy is dissipated as heat and light and is not available to living organisms.
9. Cellular respiration is a more controlled descent of electrons, like rolling down an
energy hill.
10. Energy is released in small amounts and can be stored in the chemical bonds of ATP.
11. The movement of electrons from one molecule to another is an oxidation-reduction
reaction, or redox reaction. In a redox reaction,
a. the loss of electrons from one substance is called oxidation,
b. the addition of electrons to another substance is called reduction,
c. a molecule is oxidized when it loses one or more electrons, and
d. a molecule is reduced when it gains one or more electrons.
12. A cellular respiration equation is helpful to show the changes in hydrogen atom
distribution.
13. Glucose loses its hydrogen atoms and becomes oxidized to CO2.
14. Oxygen gains hydrogen atoms and becomes reduced to H2O.
15. An important player in the process of oxidizing glucose is a coenzyme called NAD+,
which
a. accepts electrons, and
b. becomes reduced to NADH.
16. NADH delivers electrons to a string of electron carrier molecules, which moves
electrons down a hill.
17. These carrier molecules constitute an electron transport chain.
18. At the bottom of the hill is oxygen (½ O2), which
a. accepts two electrons,
b. picks up two H+, and
c. becomes reduced to water.

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. CHAPTER 6 How Cells Harvest Chemical Energy 69
 III. Stages of Cellular Respiration
A. 6.6 Overview: Cellular respiration occurs in three main stages
1. Cellular respiration consists of a sequence of steps that can be divided into three
stages.
a. Stage 1: Glycolysis
b. Stage 2: Pyruvate oxidation and citric acid cycle
c. Stage 3: Oxidative phosphorylation
2. Stage 1: Glycolysis
a. occurs in the cytosol,
b. begins cellular respiration, and
c. breaks down glucose into two molecules of a three-carbon compound called
pyruvate.
3. Stage 2: Pyruvate oxidation and the citric acid cycle
a. take place in mitochondria,
b. oxidize pyruvate to a two-carbon compound, and
c. supply the third stage with electrons.
4. The cell makes a small amount of ATP during glycolysis and the citric acid cycle.
5. Stage 3: Oxidative phosphorylation
a. NADH and a related electron carrier, FADH2, shuttle electrons to an electron
transport chain embedded in the inner mitochondrial membrane.
b. Most ATP produced by cellular respiration is generated by oxidative phosphoryla-
tion, which uses the energy released by the downhill fall of electrons from NADH
and FADH2 to oxygen to phosphorylate ADP.
c. As the electron transport chain passes electrons down the energy hill, it also pumps
hydrogen ions (H+) across the inner mitochondrial membrane, into the narrow
intermembrane space, and produces a concentration gradient of H+ across the
membrane.
d. In chemiosmosis, the potential energy of this concentration gradient is used to
make ATP.
B. 6.7 Glycolysis harvests chemical energy by oxidizing glucose to pyruvate
1. In glycolysis,
a. a single molecule of glucose is enzymatically cut in half through a series of steps,
b. two molecules of pyruvate are produced,
c. two molecules of NAD+ are reduced to two molecules of NADH, and
d. there is a net of two molecules of ATP.
2. ATP is formed in glycolysis by substrate-level phosphorylation during which
a. an enzyme transfers a phosphate group from a substrate molecule to ADP and
b. ATP is formed.
3. The compounds that form between the initial reactant, glucose, and the final product,
pyruvate, are known as intermediates.
4. The steps of glycolysis have two main phases.
a. In steps 1–4, the energy investment phase,
i. energy is consumed as two ATP molecules are used to energize a glucose
molecule,
ii. which is then split into two small sugars.
b. In steps 5–9, the energy payoff phase, two NADH molecules are produced for each
initial glucose molecule, and ATP molecules are generated.

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 5. There is a net gain of two ATP molecules for each glucose molecule that enters
glycolysis.
C. 6.8 Pyruvate is oxidized in preparation for the citric acid cycle
1. The pyruvate formed in glycolysis is transported from the cytosol into a mitochondrion
where the citric acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation will occur.
2. Two molecules of pyruvate are produced for each molecule of glucose that enters
glycolysis.
3. Pyruvate does not enter the citric acid cycle but undergoes some chemical grooming in
which
a. a carboxyl group is removed and given off as CO2,
b. the two-carbon compound remaining is oxidized while a molecule of NAD+ is
reduced to NADH, and
c. coenzyme A joins with the two-carbon group to form acetyl coenzyme A, abbreviated
as acetyl CoA.
4. Then two molecules of acetyl CoA enter the citric acid cycle.
D. 6.9 The citric acid cycle completes the oxidation of organic molecules, generating many
NADH and FADH2 molecules
1. The citric acid cycle
a. is also called the Krebs cycle (after the German-British researcher Hans Krebs, who
worked out much of this pathway in the 1930s),
b. completes the oxidation of organic molecules, and
c. generates many NADH and FADH2 molecules.
2. During the citric acid cycle,
a. the two-carbon group of acetyl CoA is added to a four-carbon compound, forming
citrate,
b. citrate is degraded back to the four-carbon compound,
c. two CO2 are released, and
d. one ATP, three NADH, and one FADH2 are produced.
3. Remember that the citric acid cycle processes two molecules of acetyl CoA for each
initial glucose.
4. Thus, after two turns of the citric acid cycle, the overall yield per glucose molecule is
a. 2 ATP,
b. 6 NADH, and
c. 2 FADH2.
5. Thus, after glycolysis and the citric acid cycle, the cell has gained
a. 4 ATM,
b. 10 NADH, and
c. 2 FADH2.
6. To harvest the energy banked in NADH and FADH2, these molecules must shuttle
their high-energy electrons to an electron transport chain.
E. 6.10 Most ATP production occurs by oxidative phosphorylation
1. The final stage of cellular respiration is oxidative phosphorylation, which
a. involves electron transport and chemiosmosis and
b. requires an adequate supply of oxygen.
2. The arrangement of electron carriers built into a membrane makes it possible to
a. create an H+ concentration gradient across the membrane and then
b. use the energy of that gradient to drive ATP synthesis.

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. CHAPTER 6 How Cells Harvest Chemical Energy 71
 3. Electrons from NADH and FADH2 travel down the electron transport chain to O2, the
final electron acceptor.
a. Oxygen picks up H+ to form water.
b. Energy released by these redox reactions is used to pump H+ from the mitochondrial
matrix into the intermembrane space.
4. In chemiosmosis, the H+ diffuses back across the inner membrane, through ATP
synthase complexes, driving the synthesis of ATP.
F. 6.11 SCIENTIFIC THINKING: Scientists have discovered heat-producing,
calorie-burning brown fat in adults
1. Mitochondria in brown fat can burn fuel and produce heat without making ATP.
2. Ion channels spanning the inner mitochondrial membrane
a. allow H+ to flow freely across the membrane and
b. dissipate the H+ gradient that the electron transport chain produced, which does not
allow ATP synthase to make ATP.
3. Scientific studies of humans indicate that
a. brown fat may be present in most people and
b. when activated by cold environments, the brown fat of lean individuals is more
active.
G. 6.12 Review: Each molecule of glucose yields many molecules of ATP
1. Recall that the energy payoff of cellular respiration involves
a. glycolysis,
b. alteration of pyruvate,
c. the citric acid cycle, and
d. oxidative phosphorylation.
2. The total yield is about 32 ATP molecules per glucose molecule.
3. The number of ATP molecules cannot be stated exactly for several reasons.
a. The NADH produced in glycolysis passes its electrons across the mitochondrial
membrane to either NAD+ or FAD. Because FADH2 adds its electrons farther along
the electron transport chain, it contributes less to the H+ gradient and thus generates
less ATP.
b. Some of the energy of the H+ gradient may be used for work other than ATP
production, such as the active transport of pyruvate into the mitochondrion.
IV. Fermentation: Anaerobic Harvesting of Energy
A. 6.13 Fermentation enables cells to produce ATP without oxygen
1. Fermentation is a way of harvesting chemical energy that does not require oxygen.
Fermentation
a. uses glycolysis,
b. produces two ATP molecules per glucose, and
c. reduces NAD+ to NADH.
2. Fermentation also provides an anaerobic path for recycling NADH back to NAD+.
3. Your muscle cells and certain bacteria can regenerate NAD+ through lactic acid
fermentation, in which
a. NADH is oxidized back to NAD+, and
b. pyruvate is reduced to lactate.
4. Lactate is carried by the blood to the liver, where it is converted back to pyruvate and
oxidized in the mitochondria of liver cells.

72 INSTRUCTOR GUIDE FOR CAMPBELL BIOLOGY: CONCEPTS & CONNECTIONS Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
 5. The dairy industry uses lactic acid fermentation by bacteria to make cheese and
yogurt.
6. Other types of microbial fermentation turn soybeans into soy sauce and cabbage into
sauerkraut.
7. The baking and winemaking industries have used alcohol fermentation for thousands
of years.
8. In this process, yeast (single-celled fungi)
a. oxidize NADH back to NAD+ and
b. convert pyruvate to CO2 and ethanol.
9. Obligate anaerobes
a. require anaerobic conditions,
b. are poisoned by oxygen, and
c. live in stagnant ponds and deep soils.
10. Facultative anaerobes
a. can make ATP by fermentation or oxidative phosphorylation and
b. include yeasts and many bacteria.
B. 6.14 EVOLUTION CONNECTION: Glycolysis evolved early in the history of life on
Earth
1. Glycolysis is the universal energy-harvesting process of life.
2. The role of glycolysis in fermentation and respiration dates back to life long before
oxygen was present, when only prokaryotes inhabited the Earth, about 3.5 billion
years ago.
3. The ancient history of glycolysis is supported by its
a. occurrence in all the domains of life and
b. location within the cell, using pathways that do not involve any membrane-enclosed
organelles of the eukaryotic cell.
V. Connections Between Metabolic Pathways
A. 6.15 Cells use many kinds of organic molecules as fuel for cellular respiration
1. Although glucose is considered to be the primary source of sugar for respiration and
fermentation, ATP is generated using
a. carbohydrates,
b. fats, and
c. proteins.
2. Fats make excellent cellular fuel because they
a. contain many hydrogen atoms and thus many energy-rich electrons and
b. yield more than twice as much ATP per gram as a gram of carbohydrate.
3. Proteins can also be used for fuel, although your body preferentially burns sugars and
fats first.
B. 6.16 Organic molecules from food provide raw materials for biosynthesis
1. A cell must be able to make its own molecules to
a. build its structures and
b. perform its functions.
2. Food provides the raw materials your cells use for biosynthesis, the production of
organic molecules, using energy-requiring metabolic pathways.
3. Metabolic pathways are often regulated by feedback inhibition in which an accumulation
of product suppresses the process that produces the product.

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. CHAPTER 6 How Cells Harvest Chemical Energy 73
Chapter Guide to Teaching Resources

Cellular Respiration: Aerobic Harvesting of Energy (6.1–6.5)

Student Misconceptions and Concerns
• Students should be cautioned against the assumption that energy is created when it is converted
from one form to another. This might be a good time to review the principle of conservation
of energy (the first law of thermodynamics addressed in Module 5.10). (6.1–6.5)
• Students often fail to realize that aerobic metabolism is a process generally similar to the
burning of wood or the burning of gasoline in an automobile engine. Noting these general
similarities can help students comprehend the overall reaction and heat generation
associated with these processes. (6.3)
• The advantage of the gradual degradation of glucose may not be obvious to some students.
Many analogies exist that reveal the advantages of a gradual process. Fuel in an automobile is
burned slowly to best utilize the energy released from the fuel. A few fireplace logs release
gradual heat to keep a room temperature steady. In both situations, excessive use of fuel
becomes wasteful, reducing the efficiencies of the systems. (6.5)
Teaching Tips
• You might wish to elaborate on the amount of solar energy striking Earth. Every day Earth
is bombarded with solar radiation equal to the energy of 100 million atomic bombs. Of the
tiny fraction of light that reaches photosynthetic organisms, only about 1% is converted to
chemical energy by photosynthesis. (6.1)
• Energy coupling at the cellular level may be new to many students, but it is a familiar concept
when related to the use of money in our society. Students might be discouraged if the only
benefit of work was the ability to make purchases from the employer. (We all might soon tire
of a fast-food job that only paid its employees in food!) Money permits the coupling of a
generation of value (a paycheck, analogous to an energy-releasing reaction) to an energy-
consuming reaction (money, which allows us to make purchases in distant locations). This
idea of earning and spending is a common concept we all know well. (6.1–6.3)
• During cellular respiration, our cells convert about 34% of our food energy to useful work
(Module 6.3). The other 66% of the energy is released as heat. We use this heat to maintain a
relatively steady body temperature near 37°C (98–99°F). This is about the same amount of
heat generated by a 75-watt incandescent light bulb. If you choose to include a discussion
of heat generation from aerobic metabolism, consider the following. (6.3)
• Share this calculation with your students. Depending on a person’s size and level of activity, a
human might burn 2,000 dietary calories (kilocalories) a day. This is enough energy to raise
the temperature of 20 liters of liquid water from 0° to 100°C. This is something to think about
the next time you heat water on the stove! (Note: Consider bringing a 2-liter bottle as a visual
aid, or 10 2-liter bottles to make the point above. It takes 100 calories to raise 1 liter of water
100°C; it takes much more energy to melt ice or evaporate water as steam.) (6.3)
• You might share with your students that it takes about 10 million ATP molecules
per second to power one active muscle cell. (6.4)
• The use of the word falling when discussing the movement of electrons in a redox reaction
can be confusing. Consider explaining the use of the term falling in reference to potential
energy of a falling object. (6.5)

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Active Lecture Tips
• Ask your students why they feel warm when it is 30°C (86°F) outside, if their core body
temperature is about 37°C (98.6°F). Shouldn’t they feel cold? Have students discuss ideas
with others seated near them.
– The answer is, our bodies are always producing heat. At these higher temperatures, we
are producing more heat than we need to maintain a body temperature around 37°C.
Thus, we sweat and behave in ways that help us get rid of the extra heat from cellular
respiration. (6.1–6.5)
• See the Activity, Photosynthesis and Respiration: Are They Similar? on the Instructor
Exchange. Visit the Instructor Exchange in the Mastering Biology instructor resource area
for a description of this activity. (6.1)
• See the Activity, Demonstration of Electron Transport and ATP Production in Aerobic
Respiration Using Students and Balloons, on the Instructor Exchange. Visit the Instructor
Exchange in the Mastering Biology instructor resource area for a description of this
activity. (6.5)

Stages of Cellular Respiration (6.6–6.12)

Student Misconceptions and Concerns
• Perhaps more than anywhere else in general biology, students studying aerobic metabolism
may fail to see the forest for the trees. Students may focus on the details of each stage of
aerobic metabolism and devote little attention to the overall process and products. Consider
emphasizing the products and energy yields associated with glycolysis, the citric acid
cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation before detailing the specifics of each reaction.
(6.6–6.12)
• The location within a cell in which each reaction takes place is often forgotten in the
details of the chemical processes, but it is important to emphasize. Consider using
Figure 6.12 as a common reference to locate each stage as you discuss the details of cellular
respiration. (6.6–6.12)
• Students frequently think that plants have chloroplasts instead of mitochondria. Take care
to point out the need for mitochondria in plants when photosynthesis is not efficient or
possible (such as during the night). (6.6–6.12)

Teaching Tips
• The production of NADH through glycolysis and the citric acid cycle, as compared to the
direct production of ATP, can get confusing for students. Help students understand that
NADH molecules have value to be cashed in by the electron transport chain. The NADH
can therefore be thought of as casino chips, accumulated along the way to be cashed in at
the electron transport cashier. (6.7–6.10)
• The authors develop an analogy between the function of the inner mitochondrial
membrane and a dam. A reservoir of hydrogen ions is built up between the inner and outer
mitochondrial membranes, like a dam holding water. As the hydrogen ions move down
their concentration gradient, they “spin” the ATP synthase, which helps generate ATP. In a
dam, water rushing downhill turns giant turbines, which generate electricity. (6.10)

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. CHAPTER 6 How Cells Harvest Chemical Energy 75
 • Students should be reminded that the ATP yield of up to 32 ATP per glucose molecule is
only a potential. The complex chemistry of aerobic metabolism can yield this amount only
under ideal conditions, when every substrate and enzyme is immediately available. Such
circumstances may occur only rarely in a working cell. (6.12)

Active Lecture Tips

• As you relate the structure of the inner mitochondrial membrane to its functions, challenge
students to explain the adaptive advantage of the many folds of this inner membrane (see
Figure 6.6). (These folds greatly increase the surface area available for the associated
reactions.) (6.10)
• See the Activity, Cell Respiration: Pair and Share, on the Instructor Exchange. Visit the
Instructor Exchange in the Mastering Biology instructor resource area for a description of
this activity. (6.6–6.12)

Fermentation: Anaerobic Harvesting of Energy (6.13–6.14)

Student Misconceptions and Concerns
• Students may expect that fermentation will produce alcohol and maybe even carbon dioxide.
Take the time to clarify the different possible products of fermentation and correct this
general misconception. (6.13)

Teaching Tips
• The text notes that some microbes are useful in the dairy industry because they produce
lactic acid. However, the impact of acids on milk may not be obvious to many students.
Consider a simple demonstration mixing about equal portions of milk (skim or 2%) with
some acid (vinegar will work). Notice the accumulation of strands of milk curd (protein)
on the side of the container and stirring device. (6.13)
• Dry wines are produced when the yeast cells use up all or most of the sugar available.
Sweet wines result when the alcohol accumulates enough to inhibit fermentation before the
sugar is depleted. (6.13)
• Exposing fermenting yeast to oxygen will slow or stop the process, because the yeast will
switch back to aerobic respiration. When fermentation is rapid, the carbon dioxide
produced drives away the oxygen immediately above the wine. However, as fermentation
slows down, the wine must be sealed to prevent oxygen exposure and permit the fermenta-
tion process to finish. (6.13)
• The widespread occurrence of glycolysis, which takes place in the cytosol and independent
of organelles, suggests that this process had an early evolutionary origin. Since atmospheric
oxygen was not available in significant amounts during the early stages of Earth’s history,
and glycolysis does not require oxygen, it is likely that this chemical pathway was used by
the prokaryotes in existence at that time. Students focused on the evolution of large,
readily apparent structures such as wings and teeth may have never considered the
evolution of cellular chemistry. (6.14)

76 INSTRUCTOR GUIDE FOR CAMPBELL BIOLOGY: CONCEPTS & CONNECTIONS Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
Connections Between Metabolic Pathways (6.15–6.16)
Student Misconceptions and Concerns
• Some students may only view nutrients as sources of calories. As noted in Module 6.16,
the building blocks in many nutrients are recycled into biosynthetic pathways of organic
molecules. (6.16)

Teaching Tips
• Figure 6.15 is an important visual synthesis of the diverse fuels that can enter into cellular
respiration and the various stages of this process. Figures such as this can serve as a visual
anchor to integrate the many aspects of this chapter. (6.15)
• The final modules in this chapter may raise questions about obesity and proper diet. The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website,
www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao/index.html, discusses many aspects of nutrition, obesity, and
general physical fitness and is a useful reference for teachers and students. (6.15–6.16)

Active Lecture Tips

• Challenge your students to explain why most extra energy in the human body is stored as
fat and not sugars or proteins. Having students visit with others seated nearby to discuss.
The general answer is this. The same mass of fat stores nearly twice as many calories
(about 9 kcal per gram) as an equivalent mass of protein or carbohydrates (about 4.5–5
kcal per gram). Fat is therefore an efficient way to store energy in animals and many
plants. To store an equivalent amount of energy in the form of carbohydrates or proteins
would require about twice the mass, adding a significant burden to the organism’s
structure. (For example, if you were 20 pounds overweight, you would be nearly
40 pounds overweight if the same energy were stored as carbohydrates or proteins instead
of fat.) (6.15–6.16)

Key Terms
acetyl CoA (acetyl citric acid cycle NAD+
coenzyme A) electron transport chain oxidation
alcohol fermentation glycolysis oxidative phosphorylation
ATP synthase intermediates redox reaction
cellular respiration kilocalorie (kcal) reduction
chemiosmosis lactic acid fermentation substrate-level phosphorylation

Word Roots
aero- = air (aerobic: using oxygen)
chemi- = chemical (chemiosmosis: the production of ATP using the energy of hydrogen ion
gradients across membranes to phosphorylate ADP)

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. CHAPTER 6 How Cells Harvest Chemical Energy 77
de- = without; -hydro = water (dehydrogenase: an enzyme that removes water when catalyzing a
chemical reaction)
glyco- = sweet; -lysis = split (glycolysis: the multistep chemical breakdown of a molecule of
glucose into two molecules of pyruvate)

78 INSTRUCTOR GUIDE FOR CAMPBELL BIOLOGY: CONCEPTS & CONNECTIONS Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.