Vital Metabolic Processes

One of the key components of why you’re alive right now is mighty metabolism. Metabolism is the group of chemical reactions that sustain the lives of organisms. The three primary missions of metabolism are converting food to energy for cellular processes, converting food and fuel into building blocks, and getting rid of metabolic wastes. All of these enzyme-powered reactions help us stay alive and function normally. But what are some of the main metabolic processes?

One of the most important metabolic processes is cellular respiration. Animals and plants use cellular respiration to convert chemical energy from oxygen molecules and nutrients into ATP (energy) and waste products. This process, which occurs in the mitochondrion of our cells, is basically what happens when we eat food and burn it off by exercising. Without cellular respiration, we wouldn’t be able to get rid of waste and get ATP energy. Cellular respiration can be represented by the following word equation: Glucose + Oxygen = Carbon Dioxide + Water + ATP. Glucose (sugar) and oxygen are the reactants, while carbon dioxide, water, and ATP are the products.

Two other metabolic processes are aerobic and anaerobic respiration. The term “aerobic” means using oxygen, and it is essentially a synonym for cellular respiration. This is performed when people are exercising and inhaling oxygen to help them burn energy. However, people sometimes try to burn energy without the use of oxygen. This is known as anaerobic respiration. Anaerobic respiration uses glucose alone to produce lactic acid and a bit of energy. Lactic acid can build up in muscle cells from consistent anaerobic respiration, and this buildup can cause muscles to stop contracting and working properly. It’s also inferior to aerobic respiration due to the minimal energy gained.

Mitochondria and cellular respiration

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