CHAPTER 3 Energy Transformations

Oxygen
The oxygen in every breath of air that reaches your lungs is carried by red blood cells to
all cells of your body.
Oxygen enters cells by diffusion and, from the cytosol, diffuses into the mitochondria
cellular respiration-is the process of converting chemical energy of food into a form
usable by cells, typically ATP.

Oxygen plays an essential role as an electron acceptor. Oxygen accepts electrons (e-)
and hydrogen ions (H+) in a reaction that simply produces water:

O2+4H++4e−→2H2O

This reaction is catalysed by cytochrome oxidase, an enzyme located in the inner

membrane of mitochondria.

Why is cyanide a killer?

When cyanide gas is breathed into the lungs, it is distributed via the bloodstream to all
body cells.

Requirements for life

Survival of unicellular and multicellular organisms requires that certain conditions be

met, namely that organisms can:

 access a source of energy from their environment

 obtain the organic molecules that are the building blocks needed for their
structure and function
 access water that provides the aqueous medium of cells in which biochemical
reactions can occur
 exchange gases with their environment
 remove waste products produced during cell metabolism.
Unicellular organism
unicellular organisms are bacteria, archaea, protozoa,unicellular algae,
and unicellular fungi.
Unicellular organisms fall into 2 categories: prokaryotic organisms and eukaryotic organisms
A unicellular organism, also known as a single-celled organism, is an organism that
consists of only one cell.

life-sustaining processes are achieved at the cellular level.

Inputs to and outputs from microbial cells occur across the plasma membrane, including
diffusion of gases,
uptake of water by osmosis,
active transport of substances
excretion of some wastes by exocytosis.

Multicellular organisms

Multicellular organisms are those which are made up of many cells.

Multicellular organisms can be much larger and more complex.
This is because the cells of the organism have specialised into many different types of cells
such as
nerve cells,
blood cells,
muscle cells all performing different functions.

Energy is needed for living

To obtain energy for life-sustaining activities, organisms must be able to:

 capture energy from an external source in their environment

 convert this energy into the chemical energy of organic molecules for use by cells
 transfer energy produced in excess of immediate needs into organic molecules
for storage.