Roles of ATP

• ATP vs Glucose:

  • ATP: Releases less energy
  • Glucose: Releases more energy
• ATP vs Glucose

  • ATP: Released in small, manageable amounts
  • Glucose: Released in large, unmanageable amounts
• ATP vs Glucose

  • ATP: Simple chemical reaction
  • Glucose: Complex chemical reaction
• ATP vs Glucose

  • ATP: Immediate source of energy
  • Glucose: Slower source of energy
• ATP is used in energy-requiring processes in cells, including:

  • METABOLIC PROCESSES - ATP provides energy needed to build up macromolecules from their basic units
  • Example: Making starch from glucose or polypeptides from amino acids
• ATP is used in energy-requiring processes in cells, including:

  • ACTIVE TRANSPORT - ATP provides the energy to change the shape of carrier proteins in plasma membranes
  • This allows molecules or ions to be moved against a concentration gradient
• ATP is used in energy-requiring processes in cells, including:

  • MOVEMENT - ATP provides energy for muscle contraction. It provides the energy for the filaments of muscle to slide past one another, and therefore shorten overall length of a muscle fibre
• ATP is used in energy-requiring processes in cells, including:

  • SECRETION - ATP is needed to form the lysosomes necessary for the secretion of cell products
• ATP is used in energy-requiring processes in cells, including:

  • ACTIVATION OF MOLECULES - The inorganic phosphate released during the hydrolysis of ATP can be used to phosphorylate other compounds in order to make them more reactive --> thus lowering the activation energy in enzyme-catalysed reactions
  • Example: The addition of a phosphate to glucose molecules at the start of glycolysis