Bioenergetics

• Different forms of energy

• Photosynthesis
• Cellular Respiration
Laws of
Thermodynamic
s
• 1st Law of Thermodynamics -
Energy cannot be created or
destroyed.
• 2nd Law of Thermodynamics
- For a spontaneous process,
the entropy of the universe
increases.
• 3rd Law of Thermodynamics
- A perfect crystal at zero
Kelvin has zero entropy.
 energy

the ability to make things move or change

 Key Concept

Temperature is a measure of the average

speed of the molecules of a thing.
Energy is the ability to make things move or
change. We know that molecules move, and that
when they get hotter they move faster.
Any moving object has kinetic energy, not just molecules.

kinetic energy

the energy that an object has because it is moving

All molecules have kinetic
energy. The amount of
motion determines how
much kinetic energy the
molecules have.
 Key concept

When a thing gets hotter, its molecules are

moving faster and have more kinetic energy.
 Key concept

When a thing gets colder, its molecules are

moving slower and have less kinetic energy.
 Key concept

Temperature is a measure of the average

kinetic energy of the molecules of a thing.
Systems are made of different parts that interact.

system

a set of interacting parts forming a complex whole

The word system is very
useful to scientists because
it can be used to describe
everything from the
systems of the human body
to the system of planets
orbiting the sun.
 Key Concept

When two things are in contact, their molecules

collide, and kinetic energy transfers from the
faster-moving molecules
to the slower-moving molecules.
 collision

the moment when two objects hit each other

You can observe similar
transfers of kinetic energy
through collisions between
familiar objects.
When a system is done changing and is stable, it is said to be
at equilibrium.

equilibrium

a balanced state in which a system is stable, such as when two or

more samples are at the same temperature
Equilibrium is related to the words change and stability,
which we saw earlier. When a system is done changing and
is stable, it is said to be at equilibrium.
 Key Concept

The molecules of a system will transfer energy

until the system reaches a stable state known as
equilibrium, in which all of the molecules are
moving at about the same speed.
 thermal energy

the total kinetic energy of all the molecules

that make up a sample
 Key Concept

8. For things at the same temperature, the thing

with more molecules has more total kinetic
energy (thermal energy) than the thing with
fewer molecules.
 Key Concept
At equilibrium, the average kinetic energy
(temperature) of the molecules in the system is
the total kinetic energy (thermal energy) evenly
divided by the number of molecules in the
system.
 Key Concept

When a thing gains or loses energy, the energy

gained or lost is divided among all the
molecules of the thing.
 Key Concept

Energy isn’t created or destroyed. Therefore, as

energy transfers, it increases in one part of the
system as it decreases in another part of the
system. The total energy of a system doesn’t
change.
Let’s talk about it

Which system do you think

will warm the school more?
Consider the differences in
temperature and
tank size.
Photosynthesis
Nearly all living things obtain energy either directly or
indirectly from the energy of sunlight captured during
photosynthesis.

Photosynthesis — process by which a

cell captures energy in sunlight and
uses it to make food.

Plants such as grass, use energy from

sun to make its own food, therefore it’s
called an autotroph.

The caterpillar obtains energy

from eating grass and the bird
obtains energy by feeding on caterpillar.
These organisms which cannot make their
own food are called heterotrophs.
 During photosynthesis,
autotrophs use the sun’s energy to
convert carbon dioxide (CO2) and
water (H2O) into oxygen (O2) and
sugars (C6H12O6):

sunlight
6 CO2 + 6 H2O C6H12O6 + 6 O2
energy
 TWO STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS

STAGE 1 STAGE 2
CAPTURING SUN’S ENERGY USING ENERGY TO MAKE FOOD

• Process occurs mostly in leaves • Cells need H2O and CO2 for this
stage.
CO2 enters leaves
through stomata, H2 O
enters through roots.

• Chloroplasts in plant cells • CO2 and H2O undergo

chemical
captive energy using photosynthetic reaction in chloroplasts to
produce
pigment called chlorophyll sugars (C6H12O6) and
oxygen which
exit leaves through stomata.

• Energy powers stage 2

 Cellular
Respiration
You will observe which
molecules are entering the
cell.
You can zoom into this cell
by pressing on the cell and
then on the magnifying
glass.
You may have noticed that:
● air has oxygen molecules
● food breaks down into different molecules
● some molecules from food and air go into the
yellow box representing one of the trillions of cells
in the human body.
You probably noticed that
these molecules enter the cell:
● glucose (from food)
● amino acids (from
food)
● oxygen (from air)
 A molecule we observed in the Sim was glucose.

glucose

a molecule that organisms can use to release energy,

and that is made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms
 Another molecule we observed in the Sim was oxygen.

oxygen

a molecule that organisms get from the air or water around them
and use to release energy
 We also observed amino acids in the Sim.

amino acid

molecules that are the building blocks of proteins

The work we have done so far helps us understand this
key concept:

1. A functioning human body has molecules from

food (glucose and amino acids) and molecules
from air (oxygen) in its cells.
Respiration — process by
which cells obtain energy
from glucose by breaking
down simple food molecules
such as sugar, and releasing
the stored energy.

*Cellular respiration is different

than the term “respiration” which
is used for breathing.

Photo by Mikael Häggström /CC BY-SA

THE RESPIRATION EQUATION

C6H12O6 + 6 O2 6 CO2 + 6 H2O + energy

sugar oxygen carbon water
dioxide

comes from comes from *Notice equation is opposite

that of
food we eat air or water photosynthesis
during
respiration
 Two Stages of Cellular Respiration:

Stage 1:In the cytoplasm, glucose is broken down into

smaller molecules; oxygen is NOT involved and only a
small amount of energy is released.

Stage 2: Takes place in the mitochondria — there

molecules are broken down even further by chemical
reactions. These chemical reactions require oxygen (O2)
and release a great deal of ENERGY. CO2 and H2O are
also released — in most animals these two products
leave body by exhaling.
Fermentation

Provides energy for cells

without using oxygen. For
example, alcoholic
fermentation. Used in
baking or lactic acid.
Fermentation felt in muscles
after extreme exertion.
Photo by Davidcarmack / CC BY-SA
 Key Concept

Cells can only use molecules that are small

enough to enter a cell.
 Key Concept

The respiratory system brings in oxygen

molecules from the air. These oxygen
molecules are already small enough to fit
into cells.
 Key Concept

The digestive system brings in food and breaks

it down into smaller molecules, such as
glucose and amino acids, that
can fit into cells.
 Key Concept

The circulatory system transports glucose,

oxygen, and amino acid molecules to every cell
in the body.
 Key Concept

In a functioning human body, body systems

work together to deliver glucose, oxygen, and
amino acid molecules to the cells in the body.
 Key concept

In order to release energy, cells need both glucose

and oxygen molecules.
Cellular respiration is a
chemical reaction that
happens inside the cells of
the body.
It releases energy to power
everything that cells, and
your body as a whole, need
to function.
Cellular respiration takes
place in parts of the cell
called mitochondria.
Cells take in oxygen and
glucose molecules.
These molecules are the
inputs needed for cellular
respiration.
In tiny cell parts called
mitochondria, the oxygen
and glucose combine in a
chemical reaction.
The outputs of cellular
respiration are carbon
dioxide molecules, water
molecules, and energy.
The cell uses the energy, stores the
water or sends it out to be used
somewhere else in the body, and gets
rid of the carbon dioxide.

Every time you breathe out, you

release the carbon dioxide produced
by cellular respiration in your cells.

Cellular respiration is always

happening in your body, whether you
are exercising, sitting still, or sleeping.
Let’s take a look at this diagram, which shows
another way of modeling how cellular respiration
happens.
In the Sim, each molecule is represented as one
different colorful shape, but this model shows how the
molecules are made up of smaller parts called atoms.
● How many different types of atoms make one glucose molecule?
● How many different types of atoms make one oxygen molecule?
● What happens to the atoms that make glucose and oxygen after
cellular respiration?
The atoms in glucose and oxygen rearrange, and the new molecules
formed are carbon dioxide and water. During this rearrangement,
energy is released. The energy released in the cells of the body during
cellular respiration allows the whole body to move, the brain to think,
the cells to grow, and makes many other things happen in the body.
 Key Concept

Inside the cell, the atoms that make up

glucose and oxygen can be rearranged to
make different molecules. This chemical
reaction is called cellular respiration and
releases energy.
Last, you will watch a
video about one of the first
scientists to study cellular
respiration.
You know that glucose and oxygen are needed for
cellular respiration, which releases energy—but
what exactly does the body do with that energy? And,
what about those amino acids, anyway? Today you
will investigate these questions. You will begin by
using the Sim.
 In the Sim, you observed that
when we eat foods with
protein, the protein
molecules are broken down
into smaller amino acid
molecules in the digestive
system.

These molecules are small enough to enter

the circulatory system.
You also observed that the
circulatory system delivers
amino acid molecules to the
cells.
In the cells, they are
combined to form new
protein molecules.
The proteins we eat give our cells the parts to make
new proteins that meet the specific needs of the
cell and the body.
Today, we’ll learn how these new proteins are
formed and what our cells and bodies use them for.

When the body grows or repairs itself, cells
divide into more cells.
@ Stem Jems / Science Source
Cells are always making new
proteins, growing, and
dividing to make more cells.
This is what makes bodies
grow over time. When
millions of healthy cells
grow and divide to make
millions more cells, the
whole body grows.
When you’re recovering from an injury or just healing from a
cut, you’re actually growing—at least on a cellular level. The
body repairs itself by growing the new cells and cell parts
needed to fix damaged ones. Individual cells get old and die, and
need to be replaced by new cells.

Cellular growth is always happening, even in adults—who may

not be getting taller anymore, but still need to grow new cells to
replace old ones and repair damaged ones.
To grow and repair themselves, cells combine amino
acid molecules to form larger protein molecules.
Those new proteins build new cells and cell parts.
Growth and repair also require energy, so cells also
need glucose and oxygen to release energy for these
important functions.
 Key concept

10.Cells can grow and repair themselves by

combining amino acid molecules to form larger
protein molecules. This growth and repair
requires energy release from cellular
respiration.