The living cells break down "Glucose" gradually, incorporating the energy as
it is released into another compound ATP. I know all the properties of ATP
as when a cell needs energy it can break off a phosphste group usually only
one, which changes it to ADP. I'm not interested in the break down of
glucose to PYRUVIC ACID and it's further breakdown to four hydrogen atoms
which provides the energy to rebuild ATP through the splitting of these
hydrogen into H+ and high-energy electrons which are caught by the electron
transport chain and hold on to the electron long enough to change the ADP to
ATP. What I would like to know is the "origin" of the ATP. Is this a
molecule that is just floating around in the cytoplasm or more specificly in
the mitochondrion just wating to be activated by an enzyme? I was
considering cell respiration not photosynthesis as a process of extracting
energy from glucose but, but it doesn't really matter for the energy is used
to convert ADP to ATP. As I will repeate I'm interested in the nature of ATP
itself for most texts treat this as some sort of God that happens to be
there.
vern
