Metabolism Metabolism refers to all the chemical reactions taking place in a cell. There are thousands of these in a typical cell, and to make them easier to understand, biochemists arrange them into metabolic pathways. The intermediates in these metabolic pathways are called metabolites. Reactions that release energy (usually breakdown reactions) are called catabolic reactions (e.g. respiration) Reactions that use up energy (usually synthetic reactions) are called anabolic reactions (e.g. photosynthesis). Photosynthesis and respiration are the reverse of each other, and the you couldn’t have one without other. The net result of all the photosynthesis and respiration by living organisms is the conversion of light energy to heat energy. What is ATP? All living cells require energy, and this energy is provided by respiration. glucose + oxygen carbon dioxide + water (+ energy)  What form is this energy in the form of chemical energy stored in a compound in? It’s called ATP (adenosine triphosphate). So all respiration really does is convert chemical
Metabolism Metabolism refers to all the chemical reactions taking place in a cell. There are thousands of these in a typical cell, and to make them easier to understand, biochemists arrange them into metabolic pathways. The intermediates in these metabolic pathways are called metabolites. Reactions that release energy (usually breakdown reactions) are called catabolic reactions (e.g. respiration) Reactions that use up energy (usually synthetic reactions) are called anabolic reactions (e.g. photosynthesis). Photosynthesis and respiration are the reverse of each other, and you couldn’t have one without the other. The net result of all the photosynthesis and respiration by living organisms is the conversion of light energy to heat energy. What is ATP? All living cells require energy, and this energy is provided by respiration. glucose + oxygen  carbon dioxide + water (+ energy) What form is this energy in? It’s in the form of chemical energy stored in a compound called ATP (adenosine triphosphate). So all respiration really does is convert chemical