
Energy released in the electron transport chain is captured as a proton gradient, which powers production of ATP by a membrane protein called ATP synthase. This process is known as oxidative phosphorylation. A simplified diagram of oxidative and substrate-level phosphorylation is shown below.
How is energy released from the electron transport chain?
Energy released in the electron transport chain is captured as a proton gradient, which powers production of ATP by a membrane protein called ATP synthase. This process is known as oxidative phosphorylation.
How is energy produced in the cell membrane?
Essentially, energy is produced as the electrons move backwards down the electron transport chain. As ATP is used up, energy is harvested. a. Energy is produced as electrons move from one membrane protein to the next in the electron transport chain.
What is the function of the electron transport chain Quizlet?
Electron Transport Chain Definition The electron transport chain is a cluster of proteins that transfer electrons through a membrane within mitochondria to form a gradient of protons that drives the creation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP is used by the cell as the energy for metabolic processes for cellular functions.
How is energy released during cell metabolism?
Energy is released during cell metabolism when ATP is hydrolyzed. This happens when electrons are passed along the chain from protein complex to protein complex until they are donated to oxygen forming water.

What happens to the energy released by the electron transport system?
Energy released in the electron transport chain is captured as a proton gradient, which powers production of ATP by a membrane protein called ATP synthase. This process is known as oxidative phosphorylation.
Where does energy come from in electron transport chain?
Key Takeaways: Electron Transport Chain The accumulation of protons in the intermembrane space creates an electrochemical gradient that causes protons to flow down the gradient and back into the matrix through ATP synthase. This movement of protons provides the energy for the production of ATP.
How do cells use electron transport chain quizlet?
The electron transport chain cranks out large amounts of ATP—in fact, it produces most of the ATP that a cell needs to drive all of its processes. In this stage, the electron carriers NADH and FADH2 that were produced in the Krebs cycle are ready to donate their energy to produce ATP.
How does the electron transport chain use energy from glucose?
The electron transport chain can convert the energy from one glucose molecule's worth of FADH2 and NADH + H+ into as many as 34 ATP. When the four ATP produced in glycolysis and the Krebs Cycle are added, the total 0f 38 ATP fits the overall equation for aerobic cellular respiration: Aerobic respiration is complete.
What is the main purpose of electron transport chain?
The primary task of the last stage of cellular respiration, the electron transport chain, is to transfer energy from the electron carriers to even more ATP molecules, the "batteries" which power work within the cell.
What is the use of electron transport chain?
The electron transport chain is a series of four protein complexes that couple redox reactions, creating an electrochemical gradient that leads to the creation of ATP in a complete system named oxidative phosphorylation. It occurs in mitochondria in both cellular respiration and photosynthesis.
Why does cellular respiration use an electron transport chain quizlet?
In cellular respiration, the role of NAD+ is to transfer high-energy electrons to the electron transport chain, where that energy can be used to make ATP. In glycolysis, pyruvate processing, and the citric acid cycle, NAD+ is reduced to NADH as it gains two electrons and two protons.
What is the function of the electron transport chain in cellular respiration quizlet?
What is the function of the electron transport chain in cellular respiration? The electron transport chain shuttles electrons down a series of redox reactions that release energy used to make ATP.
What happens when electrons are passed down the electron transport chain quizlet?
Electron transfer and proton pumping: As electrons are passed down the chain, they move from a higher to a lower energy level, releasing energy. Some of the energy is used to pump H+ ions, moving them out of the matrix and into the intermembrane space. This pumping establishes an electrochemical gradient.
What is the role of the electron transport chain quizlet?
The main purpose of the electron transport chain is to build up a surplus of hydrogen ions (protons) in the intermembrane space sp that there will be a concentration gradient compared to the matrix of the mitochondria. This will drive ATP synthase.
What are the 3 main steps of the electron transport chain?
The three main steps in the electron transport chain are:Generation of a proton gradient across the mitochondrial membrane. Proton accumulation occurs in the intermembrane space of mitochondria.Reduction of molecular oxygen and formation of water. ... ATP synthesis by chemiosmosis.
What is the electron transport chain in simple terms?
The electron transport chain is a cluster of proteins that transfer electrons through a membrane within mitochondria to form a gradient of protons that drives the creation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP is used by the cell as the energy for metabolic processes for cellular functions.
How is ATP generated in electron transport chain?
The process of forming ATP from the electron transport chain is known as oxidative phosphorylation. Electrons carried by NADH + H+ and FADH2 are transferred to oxygen via a series of electron carriers, and ATPs are formed. Three ATPs are formed from each NADH + H+, and two ATPs are formed for each FADH2 in eukaryotes.
What is the source of energy for electron transport in the mitochondria?
Summary. Electron transport is the final stage of aerobic respiration. In this stage, energy from NADH and FADH2 is transferred to ATP. During electron transport, energy is used to pump hydrogen ions across the mitochondrial inner membrane, from the matrix into the intermembrane space.
How do electrons provide energy?
When properly stimulated, electrons in these materials move from a lower level of energy up to a higher level of energy and occupy a different orbital. Then, at some point, these higher energy electrons give up their "extra" energy in the form of a photon of light, and fall back down to their original energy level.
How does the electron transport chain produce ATP quizlet?
Every time a pair of high-energy electrons moves down the Electron Transport Chain, the energy is used to move Hydrogen Ions across the Membrane. These Ions then rush back across the Membrane with enough force to spin the ATP Synthase and generate enormous amounts of ATP.
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Where Does the Electron Transport Chain Occur?
During the process, a proton gradient is created when the protons are pumped from the mitochondrial matrix into the intermembrane space of the cell, which also helps in driving ATP production. Often, the use of a proton gradient is referred to as the chemiosmotic mechanism that drives ATP synthesis since it relies on a higher concentration of protons to generate “proton motive force”. The amount of ATP created is directly proportional to the number of protons that are pumped across the inner mitochondrial membrane.
How do electrons move in the electron transfer chain?
In the electron transfer chain, electrons move along a series of proteins to generate an expulsion type force to move hydrogen ions, or protons, across the mitochondrial membrane. The electrons begin their reactions in Complex I, continuing onto Complex II, traversed to Complex III and cytochrome c via coenzyme Q, and then finally to Complex IV. The complexes themselves are complex-structured proteins embedded in the phospholipid membrane. They are combined with a metal ion, such as iron, to help with proton expulsion into the intermembrane space as well as other functions. The complexes also undergo conformational changes to allow openings for the transmembrane movement of protons.
How many electrons does NADH have?
The NADH now has two electrons passing them onto a more mobile molecule, ubiquinone (Q), in the first protein complex (Complex I). Complex I, also known as NADH dehydrogenase, pumps four hydrogen ions from the matrix into the intermembrane space, establishing the proton gradient.
What is the ATP synthase?
As the proton gradient is established, F 1 F 0 ATP synthase, sometimes referred to as Complex V, generates the ATP. The complex is composed of several subunits that bind to the protons released in prior reactions. As the protein rotates, protons are brought back into the mitochondrial matrix, allowing ADP to bind to free phosphate to produce ATP. For every full turn of the protein, three ATP is produced, concluding the electron transport chain.
How is ATP generated in an exothermic reaction?
energy is released in an exothermic reaction when electrons are passed through the complexes ; three molecules of ATP are created. Phosphate located in the matrix is imported via the proton gradient, which is used to create more ATP. The process of generating more ATP via the phosphorylation of ADP is referred to oxidative phosphorylation since the energy of hydrogen oxygenation is used throughout the electron transport chain. The ATP generated from this reaction go on to power most cellular reactions necessary for life.
What is the mechanism that drives ATP synthesis?
Often, the use of a proton gradient is referred to as the chemiosmotic mechanism that drives ATP synthesis since it relies on a higher concentration of protons to generate “proton motive force”. The amount of ATP created is directly proportional to the number of protons that are pumped across the inner mitochondrial membrane. ...
Which protein transfers electrons to the last complex?
ISP and cytochrome b are proteins that are located in the matrix that then transfers the electron it received from ubiquinol to cytochrome c1. Cytochrome c1 then transfers it to cytochrome c, which moves the electrons to the last complex. (Note: Unlike ubiquinone (Q), cytochrome c can only carry one electron at a time).
What is the energy released in the electron transport chain?
Energy released in the electron transport chain is captured as a proton gradient, which powers production of ATP by a membrane protein called ATP synthase.
What do cells use to get energy?
Fortunately for us, our cells—and those of other living organisms—are excellent at harvesting energy from glucose and other organic molecules, such as fats and amino acids. Here, we’ll go through a quick overview of how cells break down fuels, then look at the electron transfer reactions (redox reactions) that are key to this process.
How does cellular respiration work?
Rather than pulling all the electrons off of glucose at the same time, cellular respiration strips them away in pairs. The redox reactions that remove electron pairs from glucose transfer them to small molecules called electron carriers.
How do redox reactions change electron density?
Instead, some redox reactions simply change the amount of electron density on a particular atom by altering how it shares electrons in covalent bonds. As an example, let’s consider the combustion of butane:
What is the role of redox reactions in cellular respiration?
Reactions involving electron transfers are known as oxidation-reduction reactions (or redox reactions ), and they play a central role in the metabolism of a cell.
What is the process of breaking down organic fuels?
When organic fuels like glucose are broken down using an electron transport chain that ends with oxygen, the breakdown process is known as aerobic respiration (aerobic = oxygen-requiring). Most eukaryotic cells, as well as many bacteria and other prokaryotes, can carry out aerobic respiration. Some prokaryotes have pathways similar to aerobic respiration, but with a different inorganic molecule, such as sulfur, substituted for oxygen. These pathways are not oxygen-dependent, so the breakdown process is called anaerobic respira tion (anaerobic = non-oxygen-requiring). Officially, both processes are examples of cellular respiration, the breakdown of organic fuels using an electron transport chain. However, cellular respiration is commonly used as a synonym for aerobic respiration , and we’ll use it that way here [1].
How does glucose release energy?
As a glucose molecule is gradually broken down, some of the breakdowns steps release energy that is captured directly as ATP. In these steps, a phosphate group is transferred from a pathway intermediate straight to ADP, a process known as substrate-level phosphorylation. Many more steps, however, produce ATP in an indirect way. In these steps, electrons from glucose are transferred to small molecules known as electron carriers. The electron carriers take the electrons to a group of proteins in the inner membrane of the mitochondrion, called the electron transport chain. As electrons move through the electron transport chain, they go from a higher to a lower energy level and are ultimately passed to oxygen (forming water). Energy released in the electron transport chain is captured as a proton gradient, which powers production of ATP by a membrane protein called ATP synthase. This process is known as oxidative phosphorylation. A simplified diagram of oxidative and substrate-level phosphorylation is shown below.
How is ATP created?
ATP is created when hydrogen ions are pumped into the inner space (lumen) of the thylakoid . Hydrogen ions have a positive charge. Like in magnets, the same charges repel, so the hydrogen ions want to get away from each other. They escape the thylakoid through a membrane protein called ATP synthase. By moving through the protein they give it power, like water moving through a dam. When hydrogen ions move through the protein and down the electron transport chain, ATP is created. This is how plants turn to sunlight into chemical energy that they can use.
What is the chemical energy that plants use?
Chemical energy is all around us. For example, cars need the chemical energy from gasoline to run. The chemical energy that plants use are stored in ATP and NADPH. ATP and NADPH are two kinds of energy-carrying molecules. These two molecules are not only in plants, as animals use them as well.
Why do water molecules break down?
Water molecules are broken down to release electrons. These electrons then move down a gradient, storing energy in ATP in the process. Image by Jina Lee. Photosystem I and II don't align with the route electrons take through the transport chain because they weren't discovered in that order.
What is the energy that plants use to make sugar?
The light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis require sunlight. Image by Mell27. Plants cannot use light energy directly to make sugars. Instead, the plant changes the light energy into a form it can use: chemical energy. Chemical energy is all around us. For example, cars need the chemical energy from gasoline to run.
What is an ion?
Ion: an atom or molecule that does not have the same number of electrons as it has protons. This gives the atom or molecule a negative or positive charge... more (link is external)
What is the structural material found in the cell wall in most plants?
Cellulose: the structural material found in the cell wall in most plants. Cellulose is used to make many products, including paper and cloth... more (link is external) Electron transport chain: cell process that uses electrons to generate chemical energy... more (link is external) Ion: an atom or molecule that does not have the same number ...
What is the first part of photosynthesis?
Light-dependent reaction: the first part of photosynthesis where (sun)light energy is captured and stored by a plant... more (link is external) Molecule: a chemical structure that has two or more atoms held together by a chemical bond. Water is a molecule of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom (H2O)... more (link is external) ...
Answer
QUESTION: How does the electron transport chain use the high-energy electrons from glycolysis and
New questions in Biology
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How is energy produced in the electron transport chain?
Essentially, energy is produced as the electrons move backwards down the electron transport chain. As ATP is used up, energy is harvested. a. Energy is produced as electrons move from one membrane protein to the next in the electron transport chain.
How is energy produced in a cell?
Energy is produced as electrons move from one membrane protein to the next in the electron transport chain. The cell can capture this energy to produce ATP. b. Each membrane protein in the chain is destroyed, releasing energy for the cell to use.
Where does cellular respiration occur?
The reactions that make up cellular respiration occur entirely within the mitochondria of cells. TRUE or FALSE. False: The reactions that make up cellular respiration occur both in the cytoplasm and the mitochondria of cells. The overall process of glycolysis is responsible for breaking down one glucose molecule into.
How many molecules of pyruvate are in ATP?
a. 1 molecule of pyruvate and 1 molecule of ATP.
Answer
The electron transport chains is a process that is used for extracting energy by oxidation of NADH and FADH molecules produced during Glycolysis and Kreb's Cycle.
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How does the electron transport chain work?
Energy obtained through the transfer of electrons down the electron transport chain is used to pump protons from the mitochondrial matrix into the intermembrane space , creating an electrochemical proton gradient ( ΔpH) across the inner mitochondrial membrane. This proton gradient is largely but not exclusively responsible for the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ M ). It allows ATP synthase to use the flow of H + through the enzyme back into the matrix to generate ATP from adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and inorganic phosphate. Complex I (NADH coenzyme Q reductase; labeled I) accepts electrons from the Krebs cycle electron carrier nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH), and passes them to coenzyme Q (ubiquinone; labeled Q), which also receives electrons from complex II ( succinate dehydrogenase; labeled II). Q passes electrons to complex III ( cytochrome bc 1 complex; labeled III), which passes them to cytochrome c (cyt c ). Cyt c passes electrons to complex IV ( cytochrome c oxidase; labeled IV), which uses the electrons and hydrogen ions to reduce molecular oxygen to water.
What is the chain of electron transport?
The electron transport chain ( ETC; respiratory chain) is a series of protein complexes that transfer electrons from electron donors to electron acceptors via redox reactions (both reduction and oxidation occurring simultaneously) and couples this electron transfer with the transfer of protons (H + ions) across a membrane. The electron transport chain is built up of peptides, enzymes, and other molecules.
Why is the electron transport chain in bacteria more complicated?
In prokaryotes ( bacteria and archaea) the situation is more complicated, because there are several different electron donors and several different electron acceptors. The generalized electron transport chain in bacteria is:
Which electron donor directs electrons into Q?
Other electron donors (e.g., fatty acids and glycerol 3-phosphate) also direct electrons into Q (via FAD). Complex II is a parallel electron transport pathway to complex 1, but unlike complex 1, no protons are transported to the intermembrane space in this pathway.
What happens to electrons when they are passed to oxygen?
Each electron donor will pass electrons to a more electronegative acceptor, which in turn donates these electrons to another acceptor, a process that continues down the series until electrons are passed to oxygen, the most electronegative and terminal electron acceptor in the chain.
What is the flow of electrons in the electron transport chain?
The flow of electrons through the electron transport chain is an exergonic process. The energy from the redox reactions create an electrochemical proton gradient that drives the synthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). In aerobic respiration, the flow of electrons terminates with molecular oxygen being the final electron acceptor.
Why is oxygen used as an electron acceptor?
In aerobic bacteria and facultative anaerobes if oxygen is available, it is invariably used as the terminal electron acceptor, because it generates the greatest Gibbs free energy change and produces the most energy.
Which stage of the respiration pathway produces the most ATP molecules?
Electron transport chain. The electron transport chain is the last stage of the respiration pathway and is the stage that produces the most ATP molecules. The electron transport chain is a collection of proteins found on the inner membrane of mitochondria.
What is the term for the breakdown of glucose and other respiratory substrates to make energy carrying molecules called?
Cellular respiration refers to the breakdown of glucose and other respiratory substrates to make energy carrying molecules called ATP.
How does NADH release hydrogen ions?
NADH release the hydrogen ions and electrons into the transport chain. The electrons transfer their energy to the proteins in the membrane providing the energy for hydrogen ions to be pumped across the inner mitochondrial membrane. The flow of the ions back across the membrane synthesises ATP by a protein called ATP synthase.
What is the final hydrogen ion and electron acceptor?
Oxygen is the final hydrogen ion and electron acceptor. The oxygen combines with the hydrogen ions and electrons to form water. In total, 38 ATP molecules are produced from one molecule of glucose.

The First Steps of Cellular Respiration
- The first step of cellular respiration is glycolysis. Glycolysis occurs in the cytoplasmand involves the splitting of one molecule of glucose into two molecules of the chemical compound pyruvate. In all, two molecules of ATP and two molecules of NADH (high energy, electron carrying molecul…
Protein Complexes in The Chain
- There are four protein complexes that are part of the electron transport chain that functions to pass electrons down the chain. A fifth protein complex serves to transport hydrogen ionsback into the matrix. These complexes are embedded within the inner mitochondrial membrane.
Complex I
- NADH transfers two electrons to Complex I resulting in four H+ ions being pumped across the inner membrane. NADH is oxidized to NAD+, which is recycled back into the Krebs cycle. Electrons are transferred from Complex I to a carrier molecule ubiquinone (Q), which is reduced to ubiquinol (QH2). Ubiquinol carries the electrons to Complex III.
Complex II
- FADH2 transfers electrons to Complex II and the electrons are passed along to ubiquinone (Q). Q is reduced to ubiquinol (QH2), which carries the electrons to Complex III. No H+ions are transported to the intermembrane space in this process.
Complex III
- The passage of electrons to Complex III drives the transport of four more H+ions across the inner membrane. QH2 is oxidized and electrons are passed to another electron carrier protein cytochrome C.
Complex IV
- Cytochrome C passes electrons to the final protein complex in the chain, Complex IV. Two H+ ions are pumped across the inner membrane. The electrons are then passed from Complex IV to an oxygen (O2) molecule, causing the molecule to split. The resulting oxygen atoms quickly grab H+ions to form two molecules of water.
ATP Synthase
- ATP synthase moves H+ ions that were pumped out of the matrix by the electron transport chain back into the matrix. The energy from the influx of protonsinto the matrix is used to generate ATP by the phosphorylation (addition of a phosphate) of ADP. The movement of ions across the selectively permeable mitochondrial membrane and down their electrochemical gradient is calle…
Sources
- "Electron Transport in the Energy Cycle of the Cell." HyperPhysics, hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Biology/etrans.html.
- Lodish, Harvey, et al. "Electron Transport and Oxidative Phosphorylation." Molecular Cell Biology. 4th Edition., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2000, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK21528/.
Overview of Fuel Breakdown Pathways
Redox Reactions
- Cellular respiration involves many reactions in which electrons are passed from one molecule to another. Reactions involving electron transfers are known as oxidation-reduction reactions (or redox reactions), and they play a central role in the metabolism of a cell. In a redox reaction, one of the reacting molecules loses electrons and is said to b...
Redox Reactions with carbon-containing Molecules
- When a reaction involves the formation of ions, as in the example with magnesium and chlorine above, it’s relatively easy to see that electrons are being transferred. Not all redox reactions involve the complete transfer of electrons, though, and this is particularly true of reactions important in cellular metabolism. Instead, some redox reactions simply change the amount of el…
Energy in Redox Reactions
- Like other chemical reactions, redox reactions involve a free energy change. Reactions that move the system from a higher to a lower energy state are spontaneous and release energy, while those that do the opposite require an input of energy. In redox reactions, energy is released when an electron loses potential energy as a result of the transfer. Electrons have more potential energy …
Electron Carriers
- Electron carriers, sometimes called electron shuttles, are small organic molecules that readily cycle between oxidized and reduced forms and are used to transport electrons during metabolic reactions. There are two electron carriers that play particularly important roles during cellular respiration: NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, shown below) and FAD (flavin adenine di…
Electron Transport Chain
- In their reduced forms, NADH and FADH2 carry electrons to the electron transport chain in the inner mitochondrial membrane. They deposit their electrons at or near the beginning of the transport chain, and the electrons are then passed along from one protein or organic molecule to the next in a predictable series of steps. Importantly, the movement of electrons through the tra…