Cellular Respiration

Introduction

Once the energy that was in sunlight is transformed into chemical energy, the organism has to now convert the chemical energy into a usable form. It may seem a bit odd for they’re still to be more steps. After all, when we eat a candy bar isn't the sugar in the candy bar "burnt" by the body to provide energy? Well the answer is yes and no. First of all when we burn something normally in the air we combine that substance with oxygen releasing energy from the substance. Indeed, an analogous process does happen in our bodies.

The process is analogous in the sense that the food we eat is oxidized and energy released that we can use. By oxidation, we mean that electrons are lost by the molecules we take in from our food and given to other molecules. The electrons though aren't given up right away but instead the energy they contain is used to produce an important energy-carrying molecule: adenosine tri-phosphate, more commonly called ATP.

Thus, what goes on in livi...