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Cellular Respiration Explained: Purpose & Steps

Cellular respiration has three main purposes: to generate ATP energy, support many energetically unfavorable reactions, and break down glucose to extract energy. It occurs in three main steps: glycolysis, the citric acid cycle, and the electron transport chain. Glycolysis breaks down glucose in the cytoplasm, the citric acid cycle occurs in the mitochondrial matrix, and the electron transport chain takes place on the inner mitochondrial membrane. Together these steps extract energy from glucose to produce ATP through oxidation phosphorylation.

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100 views2 pages

Cellular Respiration Explained: Purpose & Steps

Cellular respiration has three main purposes: to generate ATP energy, support many energetically unfavorable reactions, and break down glucose to extract energy. It occurs in three main steps: glycolysis, the citric acid cycle, and the electron transport chain. Glycolysis breaks down glucose in the cytoplasm, the citric acid cycle occurs in the mitochondrial matrix, and the electron transport chain takes place on the inner mitochondrial membrane. Together these steps extract energy from glucose to produce ATP through oxidation phosphorylation.

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pond_1993
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Cellular Respiration: What Is It, Its Purpose, and More | Osmosis 14/4/2566 BE 01:29

MITOCHON
Plans Library Resources ! Search
a
CITRICACIDCYCLE
(KREB'SCYCLE)

INNERMITOCHONDRIA

ELECTRONTRANSP
(OXIDATIVEPHOSPH

What is the purpose of cellular respiration?

Cellular respiration is used to generate usable ATP energy in order to support many other
reactions in the body. ATP is particularly important for energetically unfavorable reactions
that would otherwise not occur without an energy input.
END:
*ATP&H.O

*NET30-32.ATPperGLUCOSE
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What are the main steps of cellular respiration?

There are three main steps of cellular respiration: glycolysis; the citric acid (TCA) or the
Krebs cycle; and the electron transport chain, where oxidative phosphorylation occurs. The
TCA cycle and oxidative phosphorylation require oxygen, while glycolysis can occur in
anaerobic conditions. 

Glycolysis is the initial breakdown of glucose to pyruvate, a three carbon structure, in the
cytoplasm. The pyruvate then moves into the mitochondrial matrix where a transition step

https://www.osmosis.org/answers/cellular-respiration Page 1 of 2
Cellular Respiration: What Is It, Its Purpose, and More | Osmosis 14/4/2566 BE 01:29

called pyruvate oxidation takes place. In this process, pyruvate dehydrogenase converts the
three-carbon pyruvate to the two-carbon acetyl-CoA. The TCA cycle begins when acetyl-
CoA combines with a four-carbon oxaloacetate in order to form the six-carbon citrate.
Because each molecule of glucose produces 2 pyruvate molecules, it takes two turns
through the Krebs cycle to completely break down the original glucose. 

Finally, the electron transport chain is a series of redox reactions powered by high energy
electrons that pumps protons across the membrane, creating a proton gradient. Together,
an electrochemical gradient is created. At the end of the electron transport chain, the final
electron acceptor, O2, combines with protons to produce water (H2O). Meanwhile, ATP
synthase uses the movement of protons back into the mitochondrial matrix for ATP
synthesis.

Where does cellular respiration take place?

Cellular respiration takes place in the cytoplasm and mitochondria of each cell of the body.
Glycolysis occurs inside the cytoplasm, while the TCA cycle occurs inside the matrix of the
mitochondria. Meanwhile, oxidative phosphorylation occurs on the inner mitochondrial

https://www.osmosis.org/answers/cellular-respiration Page 2 of 2

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