What is the major energy carrier molecule in most cells?
ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is the major energy carrier molecule in most cells.
Why is ATP the major energy carrier?
Free energy of hydrolysis of the terminal phosphates in the other NTPs, e.g. GTP, CTP, TTP, is similar to that of ATP, so it's probably not an issue of energy yield. Most likely, ATP simply became preferred for some reason very early during evolution and so everything that uses it ended up being "built" around it. Why was it preferred? I don't know, and I don't know anybody who does. Maybe it happened to interact better than the others with early enzymes, maybe it happened to be present in greater amounts than the others, etc.
ATP is an energy carrier. Where is the energy actually located?
In the cell its energy source comes from the chemical compound ATP. ATP helps the cell carry on 3 main types of work. Mechanical (cell movement), chemical (anabolism), and transport (pumping materials into and out of the cell). ATP ( adenosine triphosphate) is constructed of a molecule of adenine attached to a molecule of ribose sugar which is attached to 3 phosphates. The energy is stored in the phosphate bonds. ATP + H2O ---------------> ADP + P + G = -7.3 kcal / mol This occurs in a test tube. In the human cell -10 / -12 kcal / mol are given off. ATP transfers this energy to what ever it is reacting with. ATP is renewable. ADP + P ------------------> ATP G = + 7.3 kcal / mol (endergonic)
How does the structure of ATP make it an effective energy carrier?
Adenosine triphosphate is made up of adenosine (adenine +ribose) and three phosphate groups. The energy store in the molecule is caused by the electron configuration. The three phosphate groups have a total of 4 negative charges confined in a small area. These charges repel each other, so this makes the potential energy of the molecule very high. When ATP undergoes hydrolysis: ATP + H2O --> ADP + P the ADP and P are stablalized be cause the electrons are distributed between the ADP and the phosphate. The hydrogens from the water also surround the phosphate to reduce the charge. The hydrolysis of ATP is exergonic (spontaneous) in other words this reaction can do work on its surroundings. The organisms harnesses this work by using this free energy to phosphorylate ( to add phosphates to) molecules. Phosphorylating molecules allows many reactions to occur that are not spontaneous. For example, phosphorylation polymerizes monomers (lower energy) into polymers (higher energy). In these reactions ATP directly phosphorlyates a substrate monomer. The substrate is becomes high in potential energy because the phosphate has two negative charges. The high energy substrate now has the ability to react to form a product polymer, because the product molcule is lower in energy than the phosphorylated substrate. The energy ATP has, is also used in phosphorlation of proteins. When a protein is phosphorylated, the phosphate causes a conformational change that alters the proteins shape and function. Phosphorylation can essentially move part protein, an actuality this process is responsible for the movement of our bodies, ion pumps, movement of molecules, and other tasks a cells do.
________ is an energy carrier molecule that shuttles some of the energy from glycolysis?
none of the above. the answer is ATP.
The principal energy carrier molecule of the cell is?
ATP - adenosine tri phosphate is the main energy carrier in the cell. The reason this is such a great energy carrier is the ability to cary different number of phosphate molecules. You may have also heard of AMP and ADP. The difference is the number of phosphates. the order of the three molecules from highest energy to lowest is: ATP > ADP > AMP Other energy carriers that are equivelant to ATP in the cell are: - GTP (guanosine triphosphate) - CTP ( cytosine triphosphate)