ALDERSGATE COLLEGE EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE

HIGH SCHOOL

MODULE 5: BIOENERGETICS

Teacher: Mr. Genesis Leonel G. Plamo

Level: Grade 11 & 12
Allotted Time: 8 hours

OVERVIEW

In this module will help you learn about the cell: the basic unit of life on earth. Cells are the fundamental units of living
organisms. The cell is the key to biology because it is at this level that life truly springs. As you read this, you will
learn more about the activities of the cell, the structures and the material of life that fills them, how organisms capture
light energy to form sugar molecules, how organisms obtain and utilize energy. later on, you will be surprised what is
living material is made of

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of this module, you should be able to:

1. appreciate the cell as highly organized structure

2. describe how organisms obtain and utilize energy
3. trace the energy flow from the environment to the cells
4. to understand how cell carry out functions in performing life activities
5. recognize that organisms require energy to carry out functions required life
6. explain how photosynthetic organisms use light energy to form energy-rich compound

PRETEST
Directions: Answer the following items. Use additional sheet of paper if necessary.
1. Describe the relationship of breathing and respiration. Are they the same? Defend your answer.
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2. What happens if cellular respiration is not occurring properly inside your body?
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3. How can the study of bioenergetics be useful in controlling body weight?

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4. How does energy flow in living organisms?

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5. How does the cell transform energy within the body of organisms
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LEARNING FOCUS

Lesson 5.1 CELL

Unicellular organisms are capable of independent existence and they can perform the essential functions of life.
Anything less than a complete cell does not ensure independent living. Hence, cell is called the fundamental
structural and functional unit of life.

DISCOVERY OF THE CELL

The invention of the microscope helps scientists to study what a living organisms composed of. Even today the study
of cells reveals more detail, and its secrets, which are in fact the secrets of life itself, are revealed with ever
increasing clarity.
Robert Hooke an English scientist was the first to observed cell and in doing so he named them cells. He examined a
slice of cork in a primitive microscope and he saw tiny boxes, which he thoughts looked like a room and led to him
calling them cell.

However what Hooke actually saw was the dead cell walls of plant cells (cork) as it appeared under the microscope.

THE CELL THEORY

The cell theory was first proposed by Matthias Schleiden (1838) and Theodore Schwann (1839). Rudolf Virchow
(1855) later added the concept of formation of cells; to this theory. The cell theory is as follows;
a. All living things are made of cells
b. It is the smallest living unit structure and function of all organisms.
c. All cells arise from pre-existing cells.

TYPE OF CELL
Living things vary in terms of the number of cells they have. Some living things are multicellular. Others are
unicellular. Two types of cells compose living things. In the case of bacteria and cyanobacteria have prokaryotic cells.
These cell lack distinct nuclei and only have few organelles that are not membrane-bound. In contrast, eukaryotic
cells have distinct nuclei and contained several membrane-bound organelles. Animals, plants, protists and fungi have
eukaryotic cell. (See the illustration below for the comparison of the two types of cells)
Prokaryotic cell Eukaryotic cell

Comparison of a prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell

Characteristics Prokaryotic Cells Eukaryotic Cells
Nucleus No Yes
Membrane Bound Organelle No Yes
Size of Ribosomes 705 805
Cell wall Composition Peptidoglycan is present No Peptidoglycan
Mitotic Division No Yes
DNA Associated with Histones No Yes

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Number of Chromosomes One More than One
Cell Membrane Composition No Sterols (Except in Mycoplasmas Sterols Present
Number of Cells Usually Unicellular Usually Multicellular
Sized of Cells Smaller (1-5um) Larger 10-100um)

PARTS AND FUNCTIONS OF A EUKARYOTIC CELL

The structures that make up a Eukaryotic cell are determined by the specific functions carried out by the cell. Thus,
there is no typical eukaryotic cell. Nevertheless, eukaryotic cells generally have three main components: A cell
membrane, a nucleus, and a variety of other organelles.

THE CELL MEMBRANE (PLASMA MEMBRANE)

 The cell membrane is a complex barrier separating every cell

from its external environment.

 It is “Selectively Permeable"- which means it regulates what

passes in and out of the cell.
 The cell membrane functions like a gate, controlling which
molecules can enter and
 Carrier proteins in or on the membrane are specific, only
allowing a small group of very similar molecules through. For
instance, a- glucose is able to enter; but (3 - glucose is not.
Many molecules cannot cross at all.
 The cell membrane is a fluid mosaic of proteins floating in a phospholipid bilayer.
 The rest of the cell membrane is mostly composed of phospholipid molecules. They have only two fatty
acids ‘tails’ as one has been replaced by a phosphate group (making the ‘head’. The head is charged and
so polar; the tails are not charged and so are non-polar. Thus the two ends of the phospholipid molecule
have different properties in water. The phosphate head is hydrophilic and so the head will orient itself so that
it is as close as possible to water molecules. The fatty acid tails are hydrophobic and so will tend to orient
themselves away from water. Cells are bathed in an aqueous environment and since the inside of a cell is
also aqueous, both sides of the cell membrane are surrounded by water molecules. This causes the
phospholipids of the cell membrane to form two layers, known as a phospholipid bilayer. In this, the heads
face the watery fluids inside and outside the cell, whilst the fatty acid tails are sandwiched inside the bilayer.
The cell membrane is constantly being formed and broken down in living cells.

THE NUCLEUS

 It is a membrane bound structure that contains the cell's hereditary

information and controls the cell's growth and reproduction.

 It is the command center of a eukaryotic cell and is commonly the

most prominent organelle in a cell.

 The nucleus is surrounded by a double membrane called the

nuclear envelope, which has many nuclear pores through which
mRNA, and proteins can pass. These pores make it look like a golf
ball.

 Most nuclei contain at least one nucleolus (plural, nucleoli). The nucleoli are where ribosomes are
synthesized, (see fig. above for the illustration)

THE CYTOPLASM

Everything within the cell membrane which is not the nucleus is known as the cytoplasm.

Cytosol is the jelly-like mixture in which the other organelles are suspended.

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Organelles carry out specific functions within the cell. In Eukaryotic cells, most organelles are surrounded by a
membrane, but in prokaryotic cells there are no membrane-bound organelles.

Study Questions:
1. What are the 3 main parts of the cell? Describe each.
2. Why is cell membrane called “permeable membrane"?
3. What does it mean by hydrophilic and hydrophobic?
4. What is the main function of the nucleus?
5. Why do animals could not withstand long exposure under the sun without water while plants can?

The Different Organelles and Their Functions

ORGANELLES FUNCTION
1. Cell wall Provides mechanical support and maintains cell shape
in plant cell. It prevents water loss in plants and protect
from over expansion by too much water.(Animals have
no cell wall)
2. mitochondrion Provides energy for the cell in the form of ATP
3. vacuole Stores water, food and waste for the cells
4. Golgi Apparatus Sorts, packages and secretes cellular products
5. lysosomes The “suicide bag”. They digest excess or worn out
organelles, food particles, and engulfed viruses or
bacteria.
6. centrioles Formation of the spindle fiber during cell division
7. endoplasmic reticulum Translocation of materials within the cell and in and out
of the nucleus
8. chloroplastids Gives green color of plants
9. nuclear membrane Separates the nuclear contents from the contents of
cytoplasm.
10. Nucleoplasm Synthesis of RNA and production of ribosomes.
11. Ribosomes They use the RNA synthesized by the nucleolus in
making specific amino acid.
12. Cytoskeleton The cytoskeleton is responsible fcor cell shape, motility
of the cell as a whole, and motility of organelles within a
cell
13. Micro bodies They contain enzymes that are essential in neutralizing
toxic materials that are product of cellular metabolism

Lesson 5.2
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
Life on Earth is solar powered. The chloroplasts in plants and other photosynthetic organisms capture light energy
from the sun and convert it to chemical energy that is stored in sugar and other organic molecules. This conversion
process is called photosynthesis.

Let’s begin by placing photosynthesis in its ecological context. Photosynthesis nourishes almost the entire living
world directly or indirectly. An organism acquires the organic compounds it uses for energy and carbon skeletons by
one of two major modes: autotrophic nutrition or heterotrophic nutrition.

Almost all plants are autotrophs; the only nutrients they require are water and minerals from the soil and carbon
dioxide from the air. Specifically, plants are photoautotrophs, organisms that use light as a source of energy to
synthesize organic substances. Photosynthesis also occurs in algae like kelp, certain other unicellular eukaryotes,
and some prokaryotes.

On the other hands, heterotrophs obtain organic material by the second major mode of nutrition. Unable to make
their own food, they live on compounds produced by other organisms, the autotrophs.

PHOTOSYNTHESIS CONVERTS LIGHT ENERGY TO CHEMICAL ENERGY OF FOOD

The remarkable ability of an organism to harness light energy and use it to drive the synthesis of organic compounds
emerges from structural organization in the cell: Photosynthetic enzymes and other molecules are grouped together
in a biological membrane, enabling the necessary series of chemical reactions to be carried out efficiently.
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Chloroplasts: The sites of photosynthesis in plants. All green parts of a plant, including green stems and unripen fruit,
have chloroplasts, but the leaves are the major sites of photosynthesis in most plants. There are about half a million
chloroplasts in a chunk of leaf with a top surface area of 1 mm 2. Chloroplasts are found mainly in the cells of the
mesophyll, the tissue in the interior of the leaf. Carbon dioxide enters the leaf, and oxygen exits, by way of
microscopic pores called stomata (singular, stoma; from the Greek, meaning "mouth"). Water absorbed by the roots
is delivered to the leaves in veins. Leaves also use veins to export sugar to roots and other non-photosynthetic parts
of the plant. (singular, stoma; from the Greek, meaning “mouth"). Water absorbed by the roots is delivered to the
leaves in veins. Leaves also use veins to export sugar to roots and other non-photosynthetic parts of the plant.

A chloroplast has an envelope of two membranes surrounding a dense fluid called the stroma. Suspended within the
stroma is a third membrane system, made up of sacs called thylakoids, which segregates the stroma from the
thylakoid space inside these sacs. In some places, thylakoid sacs are stacked in columns called grana (singular,
granum).

Chlorophyll, the green pigment that gives leaves their color, resides in the thylakoid membranes of the chloroplast.

It is the light energy absorbed by chlorophyll that drives the synthesis of organic molecules in the chloroplast. Now
that we have looked at the sites of photosynthesis in plants, we are ready to look more closely at the process of
photosynthesis.
Photosynthesis in Leaf
Leaf Cross Section Mesophyll cell Chloroplast

The Process That Feeds the Biosphere-Photosynthesis

6CO2 + 6H2O  C6H12O6 + 6O2
The equation for photosynthesis may look simple but actually it is a very complex process. It involves two stages,
which involve a step by step series of chemical reaction.

1. Light reactions (the photo part of photosynthesis) - which capture solar energy and transform it into chemical
energy; and
2. Calvin cycle (the synthesis part) - which uses that chemical energy to make the organic molecules of food.

During photosynthesis, plants carry out three vital energy conversions;

1. Conversion of light energy to electron energy
2. Conversion of electron energy to short-term energy storage(ATP)
3. Conversion of short-term energy storage (ATP) to long-term energy storage (sugars)

Light Dependent Reactions

The light dependent reactions capture the energy of sunlight, storing it as chemical energy in two different energy-
carrier molecules ATP and NADPH). The chemical energy stored in these molecules will be used to power the
synthesis of high- energy storage molecules like glucose, during light- independent reactions. As the term implies,
light-dependent reactions can take place only in the presence of light (solar energy). The light-dependent reactions
take place in the thylakoid membranes, or grana, of the chloroplasts. The thylakoid membranes contain highly
organized assemblies of proteins, chlorophyll and the photosystems.

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The process begins with Photosystem II, were trapped light energy is used to split water, a process known photolysis

H2O  2H++2e- + ½ O2
The electrons are used to generate ATP, by passing them along a series of electron carriers, losing energy as they
do so, before they join Photosystem I, replacing electrons lost there.

Photosystem I also traps light energy, and uses it to excite electrons along a series of carrier molecules. Combined
with the H+ ions formed in Photosystem I, they react with NADP to produce reduced NADP (also known as
NADPH2):
NADP + 2H+ + 2e- —> reduced NADP

The end-products of the light reaction are thus ATP and reduced NADP, (also called NADPH) which move into the
stroma of the chloroplast ready to act as the raw materials for the light-independent reactions (see figure above)
Notice that the light reactions produce no sugar; that happens in the second stage of photosynthesis, the Calvin
cycle.

Light Independent Reactions (Calvin Cycle)

This process was named from the fact that they do not require light to take place. The Calvin cycle is named for
Melvin Calvin, who, along with his colleagues James Bassham and Andrew Benson, began to simplify its steps.
Calvin cycle is anabolic, building carbohydrates from smaller molecules and consuming energy. Carbon enters the
Calvin cycle in the form of C02 and leaves in the form of sugar. The cycle spends ATP as an energy source and
consumes NADPH as reducing power for adding high- energy electrons to make the sugar. The carbohydrate
produced directly from the Calvin cycle is actually not glucose, but a three-carbon sugar; the name of this sugar is
glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (G3P). For the net synthesis of one molecule of G3P, the cycle must take place three
times, fixing three molecules of CO2—one per turn of the cycle.

Calvin cycle is divided into three phases: carbon fixation, reduction, and regeneration of the CO2 acceptor.

Phase 1: Carbon fixation. The Calvin cycle incorporates each CO2 molecule, one at a time, by attaching it to a five-
carbon sugar named ribulose bisphosphate(RuBP). The enzyme that catalyzes this first step is RuBP carboxylase-
oxygenase, or (rubisco) - the most abundant protein in chloroplasts and is also thought to be the most abundant
protein on Earth. The product of the reaction is a six-carbon intermediate that is short lived because it is so
energetically unstable that it immediately splits in half, forming two molecules of 3-phosphoglycerate (for each CO2
fixed).

Phase 2; Reduction. Each molecule of 3-phosphoglycerate receives an additional phosphate group from ATP,
becoming 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate. Next, a pair of electrons donated from NADPH reduces 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate,
which also loses a phosphate group in the process, becoming glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (G3P). Specifically, the
electrons from NADPH reduce a carboxyl group on 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate to the aldehyde group of G3P, which
stores more potential energy. G3P is a sugar—the same three-carbon sugar formed in glycolysis by the splitting of
glucose. Notice in fig. below that for every three molecules of CO2 that enter the cycle, there are six molecules of
G3P formed. But only one molecule of this three-carbon sugar can be counted as a net gain of carbohydrate because
the rest are required to complete the cycle. The cycle began with 15 carbons’ worth of carbohydrate in the form of
three molecules of the five- carbon sugar RuBP. Now there are 18 carbons' worth of carbohydrate in the form of six
molecules of G3P. One molecule exits the cycle to be used by the plant cell, but the other five molecules must be
recycled to regenerate the three molecules of RuBP.

Phase 3: Regeneration of the C02 acceptor (RuBP). In a complex series of reactions, the carbon skeletons of five
molecules of G3P are rearranged by the last steps of the Calvin cycle into three molecules of RuBP, to accomplish
this, the cycle spends three more molecules of ATP. The RuBP is now prepared to receive CO 2 again, and the cycle
continues.

For the net synthesis of one G3P molecule, the Calvin cycle consumes a total of nine molecules of ATP and six
molecules of NADPH. The light reactions regenerate the ATP and NADPH. The G3P spun off from the Calvin cycle
becomes the starting material for metabolic pathways that synthesize other organic compounds, including glucose
(formed by combining two molecules of G3P), the disaccharide sucrose, and other carbohydrates. Neither the light
reactions nor the Calvin cycle alone can make sugar from CO2.

Study Questions:

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1. What is photosynthesis? Where does it take place?

2. What is the by-product of photosynthesis?
3. What is the by-product of light dependent reactions? Calvin cycle?
4. What is the relationship between light dependent reactions and the Calvin cycle?
5. What happen to the ATP and NADPH as it enters the Calvin cycle?
6. What do you call the 3-carbon sugar that is produced directly in Calvin Cycle?

Lesson 5.3:
CELLULAR RESPIRATION
Cellular processes are made possible by means of energy. Where does this energy come from?

Whereas only photosynthetic cells can make sugar using photosynthesis. All cells need to be able to break down
sugars they take in from their environment and turn it into energy to be used in cellular work. You have learned that
ATP is the short term energy currency of the cell that is generated by the mitochondria. The conversion of long- term
energy storage such as glucose into ATP is called respiration.

During cellular respiration, sugar is broken down to C02 and H20, and in the process, ATP is made that can then be
used for cellular work.
C6H1206 + 6O2 > 6CO2 + 6H2O + -38 ATP

STAGES OF CELLULAR RESPIRATION

1. Glycolysis. Glycolysis is known as “splitting of sugar". One Glucose (C6H12Os) is broken down to 2 molecules of
pyruvic acid, results in the production of 2 ATPs for every glucose. It is an anaerobic process- proceeds whether or
not O2 is present. Aerobic conditions produce pyruvate and anaerobic conditions produce lactate as the end products
of glycolysis. At the end, the process yields a 2 pyruvate molecule and 2ATP.
2. Krebs Cycle (Tricarboxylic Add Cycle). Recall that the pyruvate is the end product of glycolysis. Pyruvate is
transported to the mitochondrial matrix, where it is broken down via Krebs Cycle. The pyruvate diffuses down its
concentration gradient into the mitochondria until it reaches the mitochondrial matrix, where it is used in cellular
respiration. In the matrix, pyruvate reacts with coenzyme A(CoA) forming C02 and acetyl CoA. When acetyl CoA
enters the Krebs Cycle, CoA is released. One set of the reactions in the cycle produces 3NADH, 1FADH 2, 2CO2 and
1ATP for each acetyl CoA. Because each glucose molecule yields 2 pyruvates, the total energy harvest per glucose
molecule in the matrix is 2ATP, 8NADH and FADH2.
3.Electron Transport System. Energetic electrons produced by the Krebs Cycle are carried to electron transport
chains in the inner mitochondrial membrane. At this pant, the cell has gained only 4 ATP molecules from the original
glucose molecule: 2 during glycolysis and 2 during Krebs cycle. The cell has, however, captured many energetic
electrons in carrier molecules. The carriers deposit their electrons in electron transport chain. Energy released by the
electrons during the transfer is used to pump hydrogen ions from the matrix across the inner membrane. The
movement of the hydro-gen ions down their gradient through the pores of ATP synthesizing enzymes drives the
synthesis of 32-34molecules o ATP.

Anaerobic Respiration
Have you experienced muscle cramp? How does it happen? In aerobic respiration, glucose is converted to ATP in a
presence of oxygen. If you are climbing a very steep hill. You start breathing harder to get oxygen. After a while, your
breathing rate and your heart rate reach their maximum. Yet even this maximum isn't delivering enough oxygen to
your system. At that point, you switch over to anaerobic respiration.
Anaerobic means without oxygen. In humans, what you'll do is take glucose, and, in many steps, break it down to two
molecules of a three carbon molecule called lactic acid. Lactic acid causes the muscle cramps.

Comparative Summary of Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration

Photosynthesis Cellular Respiration

1. Stores energy in sugar molecules Releases energy from sugar molecules
2. Uses carbon dioxide and water Releases carbon dioxide and water
3. Increases weight Decreases weight
4. Occurs in cell containing chloroplasts Occurs in all living cells
5. Produces oxygen in green organisms Utilizes oxygen
6. Produces ATP with energy from light Produces ATP with energy released from sugar

Study Questions:
1. What is the end product of glycolysis?

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2. What is the product of glycolysis that takes place in anaerobic condition?

3. Where does Krebs cycle take place? What is the end product of this stage?
4. How many ATP is produced in aerobic respiration?
5. What is the effect if pyruvic acid cannot proceed to Krebs Cycle?

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