An Introduction to Metabolism
546177564 | metabolism | an emergent property of life that arises from orderly interactions between molecules. | |
546177565 | metabolic pathway | begins with a specific molecule and ends with a product | |
546177566 | catabolic pathway | metabolic pathways that release energy by breaking down complex molecules to simpler compounds | |
546177567 | anabolic pathway | consume energy to build complicated molecules from simpler ones | |
546177568 | bioenergetics | the study of how energy flows through living organisms | |
546177569 | energy | The ability to do work or cause change | |
546177570 | kinetic energy | energy of motion | |
546177571 | thermal energy | the total amount of energy associated with the random movement of atoms and molecules in a sample of matter | |
546177572 | potential energy | The energy that matter possesses as a result of its location or structure | |
546177573 | chemical energy | potential energy available for release in a chemical reaction | |
546177574 | thermodynamics | study of energy transformations that occur in a collection of matter | |
546177575 | first law | energy is never created nor destroyed but can be converted from one form to another | |
546177576 | second law | energy will spontaneously flow in a direction in which entropy of the universe increases. Change in entropy of the universe is always > 0. | |
546177577 | entropy | a measure of the randomness or disorder of a system | |
546177578 | spontaneous process | a process that can occur without an input of energy | |
546177579 | free energy | The portion of a system's energy that can perform work when temperature is uniform throughout the system. | |
546177580 | exergonic reaction | A spontaneous chemical reaction in which there is a net release of free energy. | |
546177581 | endergonic reaction | A non-spontaneous chemical reaction in which free energy is absorbed from the surroundings. | |
546177582 | energy coupling | The use of an exergonic process to drive an endergonic one | |
546177583 | ATP | An adenine-containing nucleoside triphosphate that releases free energy when its phosphate bonds are hydrolyzed. This energy is used to drive endergonic reactions in cells. | |
546177584 | phosphorylated intermediate | A molecule with a phosphate group covalently bound to it, making it more reactive that the unphosphorylated molecule. | |
546177585 | activation energy | the minimum amount of energy required to start a chemical reaction | |
546177586 | enzyme | A protein serving as a catalyst, a chemical agent that changes the rate of a reaction without being consumed by the reaction | |
546177587 | catalyst | substance that speeds up the rate of a chemical reaction | |
546177588 | substrate | reactant of an enzyme-catalyzed reaction | |
546177589 | enzyme substrate complex | a temporary complex formed when an enzyme binds to its substrate molecules | |
546177590 | active site | The specific portion of an enzyme that attaches to the substrate by means of weak chemical bonds. | |
546177591 | induced fit | The change in shape of the active site of an enzyme so that it binds more snugly to the substrate, induced by entry of the substrate. | |
546177592 | competitive inhibitor | A substance that reduces the activity of an enzyme by entering the active site in place of the substrate whose structure it mimics. | |
546177593 | cofactor | a substance (as a coenzyme) that must join with another to produce a given result | |
546177594 | coenzyme | An organic molecule serving as a cofactor. Most vitamins function as coenzymes in important metabolic reactions | |
546177595 | noncompetitive inhibitor | A substance that reduces the activity of an enzyme by binding to a location remote from the active site, changing its conformation so that it no longer binds to the substrate. | |
546177596 | allosteric regulation | The binding of a regulatory molecule to a protein at one site that affects the function of the protein at a different site. | |
546177597 | feedback inhibition | A method of metabolic control in which the end product of a metabolic pathway acts as an inhibitor of an enzyme within that pathway. |