Can someone simply explain aerobic respiration to me?
Apr.02, 2010 in
Aerobic Respiration
My AP test is on Monday and I just need a simple understanding of aerobic respiration’s three parts (glycolysis, Krebs cycle, and oxidative something?) I don’t need enzyme names or anything, just an overview. thanks so much 
April 2nd, 2010 at 12:28 pm
ok, it’s hard to explain in just words, but here goes.
you start with glucose. 2 ATP, 2 NAD+, and 4 ADP is added to it, for a result of 2 ADP, 2 NADH, 4 ATP, and 2 pyruvates. this whole process is called glycolosis.
from there, the pyruvates can go to on the aerobic pathway, or the anarobic pathway. but you asked for the aerobic:
NAD+ is added to pyruvate to yield CO2, NADH, and acetyl CoA.
the acetyl CoA then enters the Krebs Cycle. acetyl CoA turns into citrate, then 3 NAD+ is added and # NADH is let out, FAD is added and FADH2 is let out, ADP is added and ATP is let out, then the molecule lets out CO2 and you have OAA left and it turns into acetyl CoA and goes through the cycle again. a good visual for the Krebs Cycle is here:
http://library.thinkquest.org/C004535/aerobic_respiration.html
then into Oxidative Phosphorylation. remember the NADH and FADH2 we let off from the Krebs? they’re broken down so that 2 electrons are taken from each and sent through the electron transport chain, where 3 ADP comes to yield 3 ATP and 2 electrons, which are taken up by 2H+ and (1/2)O2 to make H2O.
just remember: glucose through glycolosis to make pyruvate. pyruvate to acetyl CoA through the Krebs Cycle (twice) to make NADH, FADH2, and ATP. the electrons from NADH and FADH2 through Oxidative Phosphorylation to make ATP and water. all this gives you a total of 36 ATP molecules.