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| The totality of an organism's chemical reactions, consisting of catabolic and anabolic pathways, which manage the material and energy resources of the organism. |
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| A series of chemical reactions that either builds a complex molecule (anabolic pathway) or breaks down a complex molecule to simpler molecules (catabolic pathway). |
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| A metabolic pathway that releases energy by breaking down complex molecules to simpler molecules. |
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| A metabolic pathway that consumes energy to synthesize a complex molecule from simpler molecules. |
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| The study of how energy flows through organisms. |
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| The capacity to cause change, especially to do work (to move matter against an opposing force). |
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| The energy associated with the relative motion of objects. Moving matter can perform work by imparting motion to other matter. |
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| The total amount of kinetic energy due to the random motion of atoms or molecules in a body of matter; also called thermal energy. Heat is energy in its most random form. |
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| The energy that matter possesses as a result of its location or spatial arrangement (structure). |
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| Energy available in molecules for release in a chemical reaction; a form of potential energy. |
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| The study of energy transformations that occur in a collection of matter. |
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| First Law of Thermodynamics |
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| The principle of conservation of energy: Energy can be transferred and trnsformed, but it cannot be created or destroyed. |
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| A measure of disorder, or randomness. |
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| Second Law of Thermodynamics |
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| The principle stating that every energy transfer or transformation increases the entropy of the universe. Usable forms of energy are at least partly converted to heat. |
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| A process that occurs without an overall input of energy; a process that is energetically favorable. |
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| The portion of a biological system's energy that can perform work when the temperature and pressure are uniform throughout the system. The change in free energy of a system (delta G) is calculated by the equation delta G = delta H - TdeltaS, where delta H is the change in enthalpy (in biological systems, equivalent to total energy), T is the absolute temperature, and delta S is the change in entropy. |
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| A spontaneous chemical reaction, in which there is a net release of free energy. |
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| A nonspontaneous chemical reaction, in which free energy is absorbed from the surroundings. |
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| In cellular metabolism, the use of energy released from an exergonic reaction to drive an endergonic reaction. |
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| ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) |
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Definition
| 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. |
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| Phosphorylated Intermediate |
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Definition
| A molecule (often a reactant) with a phosphate group convalently bound to it, making it more reactive (less stable) than the unphosphorylated molecule. |
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| The amount of energy that reactants must absorb before a chemical reaction will start; also called free energy of activation. |
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| The reactant on which an enzyme works. |
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| A temporary complex formed when an enzyme binds to its substrate molecule(s). |
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| The specific region of an enzyme that binds to the substrate and that forms the pocket in which catalysis occurs. |
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| Caused by entry of the substrate, the change in shape of the active site of an enzyme so that it binds more snugly to the substrate. |
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| Any nonprotein molecule or ion that is required for the proper functioning of an enzyme. Cofactors can be permanently bound to the active site or may bind loosely annd reversibly along with the substrate, during catalysis. |
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| An organic molecule serving as a cofactor. Most vitamins function as coenzymes in metabolic reactions. |
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| A substance that reduces the activity of an enzyme by entering the active site in place of the substrate, whose structure it mimics. |
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| A substance that reduces the activity of an enzyme by binding to a location remote from the active site, changing the enzyme's shape so that the active site no longer effectively catalyzes the conversion of substrate to product. |
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| The binding of a regulatory molecule to a protein at one site that affects the function of a protein at a different site. |
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| A kind of allosteric regulation whereby a shape change in one subunit of a protein caused by substrate binding is transmitted to all the other subunits, facilitating binding of additional substrate molecules to those subunits. |
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| A method of metabolic control in which the end product of a metabolic pathways acts as an inhibitor of an enzyme within that pathway. |
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