Glycolysis Lab Report

In order to perform their vital functions, our cells require a continual input of energy. Aerobic cellular respiration is the process in which our cells, in the presence of oxygen, break down glucose and turn it into usable high-energy ATP molecules. It is a highly complex process that involves many individual processes and it takes place predominantly in the mitochondria.

Glycolysis is the first process of aerobic respiration, it starts in the cytosol of the cell where it converts glucose into pyruvate molecules, NADH and a small number of ATP molecules. The pyruvate is transported into the mitochondrial matrix where it will undergo pyruvate decarboxylation, a reaction that involves a cofactor called coenzyme A and a NAD+ molecule to convert pyruvate into acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA), CO2, NADH and H+. Acetyl-CoA is used as a fuel source in the next process of aerobic respiration, the citric acid cycle.

In the citric acid cycle, also known

Ubiquinone, also known as coenzyme Q10, collects these electrons and delivers them to complex III, which sequentially pumps the protons through the membrane into the intermembrane space and passes its electrons to cytochrome c for transport to the next protein complex. In complex IV, more hydrogen ions are forced out of the electron transport chain and into the intermembrane space. It also pumps the electrons down into the mitochondrial matrix where diatomic oxygen is reduced, making it free to react with the hydrogen ions present in the surrounding to produce water molecules. This is the oxygen-requiring step of cellular respiration and it consumes virtually all of the oxygen that is acquired through ventilation (Alberts et al,