Chapter 8 An Introduction to Metabolism Overview: The Energy of Life the living cell is a miniature factory where thousands of chemical reactions occur energy is converted in many ways some organisms convert energy into light ? bioluminescence Concept 8.1: An organisms metabolism transforms matter and energy, subject to the laws of thermodynamics metabolism is the totality of an organism?s chemical reactions, consisting of catabolic and anabolic pathways an emergent property arising from the interaction of molecules Organization of the Chemistry of Life into Metabolic Pathways a metabolic pathway is a series of chemical reactions that either builds a complex molecule (anabolic pathway) or breaks down a complex molecule into simpler compounds (catabolic pathway)