ATP Worksheet

Module: BIOENERGETICS: The Structure of ATP
Objective:
 At the end of the module, the students should be able to explain how cells carry out functions required for
life.
Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is considered to be
the energy currency of life. It is the high-energy
molecule that stores the energy we need to do just
about everything we do. It is present in the
cytoplasm and nucleoplasm of every cell, and
essentially all the physiological mechanisms that
require energy for operation obtain it directly from
the stored ATP. As food in the cells is gradually
oxidized, the released energy is used to re-form the
ATP so that the cell always maintains a supply of
this essential molecule. ATP is remarkable for its
ability to enter into many coupled reactions, both
those to food to extract energy and with the
reactions in other physiological processes to provide energy to them. In animal systems, the ATP can be
synthesized in the process of glycolysis in which there is a net production of two ATP molecules in a cycle.
This glycolysis is a major step in anaerobic respiration. For aerobic respiration the glycolysis is also a source of
ATP but the more productive process in the tiny energy factories called mitochondria plays a major role in the
production of ATP.
The structure of ATP has an ordered

carbon compound as a backbone, but the
part that is really critical is the
phosphorous part - the triphosphate.
Three phosphorous groups are connected
by oxygen to each other, and there are
also side oxygens connected to the
phosphorous atoms. Under the normal
conditions in the body, each of these
oxygens has a negative charge, and
therefore repel each other. These bunched
up negative charges want to escape - to
get away from each other, so there is a lot
of potential energy here.
If you remove just one of these phosphate groups from the end, so that there are just two phosphate groups, the
molecule is much happier. This conversion from ATP to ADP is an extremely crucial reaction for the supplying
of energy for life processes. Just the cutting of one bond with the accompanying rearrangement is sufficient to
liberate about 7.3 kilocalories per mole = 30.6 kJ/mol. This is about the same as the energy in a single peanut.
Living things can use ATP like a battery. The ATP can power needed reactions by losing one of its phosphorous
groups to form ADP, but you can use food energy in the mitochondria to convert the ADP back to ATP so that
the energy is again available to do needed work. In plants, sunlight energy can be used to convert the less active
compound back to the highly energetic form. For animals, you use the energy from your high energy storage
molecules to do what you need to do to keep yourself alive, and then you "recharge" them to put them back in
the high energy state. The oxidation of glucose operates in a cycle called the TCA cycle or Krebs cycle in
eukaryotic cells to provide energy for the conversion of ADP to ATP.
Conversion from ATP to ADP
Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the energy

currency of life and it provides that energy for
most biological processes by being converted to
ADP (adenosine diphosphate). Since the basic
reaction involves a water molecule,
ATP + H2O → ADP + Pi this reaction is

commonly referred to as the hydrolysis of ATP.
TWO TYPES OF PHOSPHORYLATION
 Substrate level phosphorylation is when ADP is converted to ATP by the direct transfer of a phosphate
group. The phosphate group is donated or transferred from a phosphorylated intermediate. This is in contrast
to oxidative phosphorylation, where a chemiosmotic gradient is used to power the phosphorylation process.
A simple way to think of the difference is that in substrate level, the phosphorylation is a direct process, with no
middle man. The phosphate comes off of one molecule (the intermediate) and is directly transferred to another
(the ADP). The energy for the phosphorylation of ADP is provided directly from breaking the high energy
phosphate bond on the intermediate molecule. This is referred to as reaction coupling.
Oxidative phosphorylation has middle men in the form of NADH and the electron transport enzymes. The
phosphate comes from a pool of inorganic phosphates instead of directly from another molecule, and the energy
to phosphorylate the ADP comes from the proton gradient, not from coupled reactions.
Test Yourself
I. Identify the numbered items. Write the answer in the blank.
1. Gamma Phosphate Group

2. Adenine
3. Ester Bond
4. AMP – Adenosine
Monophosphate
5. ADP – Adenosine Diphosphate
6. ATP – Adenosine Triphosphate
7. Ribose
8. Phosphoanhydride bonds/High
Energy Bonds
9. Adenosine
10. Beta Phosphate Group
11. Alpha Phosphate Group
II. Answer the following questions comprehensively.
1. What type(s) of carbon-based molecules (organic compounds) are the source for most of the energy in
the foods you eat?
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2. Where is the energy stored in these molecules?

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3. What is ATP?
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4. What is ATP used for in cells?

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5. How is energy stored in the ATP molecule?

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6. What happens to the ATP molecule when a phosphate group is removed? (what does it turn into?)
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III. Draw a diagram below showing the cycle of ATP and ADP below.
IV. Look at the following diagrams to answer these questions.

1. What is the molecular formula of ribose?
C____ H_____ O _____ C5H10O5
2. What is the ratio of hydrogen to oxygen atoms? ____________________
3. To what organic molecule group does ribose belong? ____________________
4. What is the overall shape of ribose? 5-carbon sugar = ?
5. What is the molecular formula of adenine?
C ____H _____ N_____ C5H5N5
6. What atom is present in adenine that was NOT present in ribose? ________________
7. What atom is present in ribose that is NOT present in adenine? ________________
8. What is the molecular formula for phosphoric acid?
H ____ P _____O _____ H3PO4
V. Converting ADP to ATP

ATP can be formed within the mitochondria of cells as long as the necessary reactants are available. The
equation for the conversion of ADP to ATP is as follows:
ADP + phosphate group + energy ATP
1. What are the reactants in the equation? ADP, phosphate group, energy
2. What is the product? ATP
3. What is the advantage to having a vast supply of ATP in the cell? Cellular Performance (Synonymous
Answers)
5. From where does the energy come from to convert ADP to ATP? Cellular Respiration (Glycolysis,
Kreb’s Cycle)
6. What atoms had to be removed to make the ATP molecule? Hydrogen atoms, Oxygen atom
7. What molecule did you make with these atoms? Water molecule
8. Was this reaction due to dehydration synthesis or hydrolysis? Dehydration synthesis

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Module: BIOENERGETICS: The Structure of ATP

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)

The structure of ATP has an ordered

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the energy

ATP + H2O → ADP + Pi this reaction is

TWO TYPES OF PHOSPHORYLATION

I. Identify the numbered items. Write the answer in the blank.

1. Gamma Phosphate Group

II. Answer the following questions comprehensively.

2. Where is the energy stored in these molecules?

4. What is ATP used for in cells?

5. How is energy stored in the ATP molecule?

IV. Look at the following diagrams to answer these questions.

V. Converting ADP to ATP

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