Topic 5: Energy Transfers in and between

Organisms
Energy Transfers and Nutrient Cycles
Energy transfer through ecosystems

Energy enters the food chain when producers absorb light energy and convert it into chemical
energy during photosynthesis. The energy is used for the plant for growth and becomes biomass
(living matter). When primary consumers eat the plants, the energy (and biomass) is transferred to the
next trophic level. The energy is eventually passed onto secondary and then tertiary consumers.

Only a small proportion (around 40%) of the energy at one trophic level is passed on to the next.
The rest is lost in the following ways:

1. Not all the light energy that hits the plant will be absorbed - some will hit non-photosynthetic
parts of the plant (e.g. the tree trunk). Of the light energy that does hit a photosynthetic pigment,
not all of it can be absorbed because it is the wrong wavelength (e.g. chlorophyll pigments are
unable to absorb green parts of the visible spectrum, which is why they appear green to us).
2. Not all parts of an organism are eaten e.g. bones, beaks and roots. The energy is transferred
to decomposers.
3. Consumers may not be able to completely digest the organism - e.g. humans are unable to
completely break down plant cell walls so it is converted into faeces. The energy is passed onto
decomposers.

Of the 40% of total energy that is passed onto the next trophic level, only a quarter (10%) is
converted into biomass and will be available to the next trophic level. The remaining 30% is used
in respiration, movement and maintaining body temperature. This explains why food chains
rarely exceed four or five trophic levels - there isn’t enough energy remaining by the time it is
transferred to the tertiary consumer.
Measuring energy transfers between trophic levels

The official method of measuring energy transfers between trophic levels is to essentially roast the
organisms in the oven to dehydrate them, weigh them and calculate the difference in mass
between organisms at different trophic levels. That’s all fine for plants but not such a nice
experiment where animals are involved. For this reason, scientists would usually estimate the dry
mass of animals instead. Here’s the method anyway:

• Choose the area that you want to sample - e.g. a m2 area of woodland.
• Dry the different organisms in the food chain in an oven until their mass becomes constant - at
this point you can be sure that all the water has been removed and you're left with only the dry
mass (biomass).
• Multiply the results of the sample by the size of the total area (e.g. to work out the biomass of
that organism in 1500 m2 of woodland.
• The difference in biomass between the trophic levels is the same as the amount of biomass
transfer (or energy transfer) between the organisms.

The limitations with this approach are that it assumes that each consumer only consumes one
type of organism - it wouldn’t work for consumers which feed on multiple food sources.

Net Productivity

Biomass is the amount of energy that is available to the next trophic level - it can also be referred to
as net productivity. You can think of this as the amount of weight an organism has been able to
pack on - the fatter the organism, the more food (and energy) will be available for the organism that is
going to eat it. Net productivity is calculated by taking the gross productivity (all the energy
consumed by the organism) and subtracting the amount lost in respiration.

Whenever plants are involved, net productivity is referred to as Net Primary Productivity (NPP)
because they are the first organisms in the food chain. It is calculated by taking the Gross Primary
Productivity (GPP) and subtracting the energy used in plant respiration.
We can also calculate how efficient energy transfer is by dividing the net productivity by the total
amount of energy taken in by the organism. This number is then multiplied by 100 to convert it into a
percentage.

Food chains

We can use food chains to show which organisms feed on other organisms within an ecosystem and
therefore the flow of energy from one organism to another. Energy always starts from the Sun and is
converted into glucose by photosynthesis in green plants. Glucose is used in respiration to generate
energy which is used to help the organism to grow (increase in biomass). Organisms which produce
biomass by capturing the energy from sunlight are called producers and are at the beginning of
every food chain. An organism which feeds on a producer are called primary consumers and will
also be herbivores, since producers tend to be mostly green plants. The next organism in the food
chain is the secondary consumer which will be eaten by the tertiary consumer.
Food webs

Food webs show the interaction of multiple interconnected food chains within an ecosystem. For
example, in the marine ecosystem pictured below there are a number of food chains which are all
connected together. You can see that if the population size of any of these organisms changes, it will
affect all the other organisms in the food web. This is known as interdependence. For instance, if the
number of squid in the ocean decreased, this would boost mackerel populations (as there are fewer
squid to eat them) and reduce the amount of seaweed and red algae, since there are more mackerel
consuming these plants.

Decomposers are also part of food webs. They break down dead material and allow nutrients to be
recycled.
Farming practices

Farmers can increase the efficiency of energy transfer by reducing the amount of energy lost to
other organisms (e.g. pests), through the following ways:

• They may use insecticides to kill insects which feed on crops. Less biomass is transferred to
the insect and plants grow larger (higher NPP).
• Herbicides kill weeds which compete with crops. More water, mineral ions and sunlight can
be obtained, increasing GPP and NPP.
• Biological agents are natural ways of getting rid of pests. Parasites that live off pest species
can be used to reduce their numbers, or pathogenic bacteria/viruses that infect pests are two
biological ways of reducing pest numbers.

They can also increase the efficiency of energy transfer by reducing the energy lost in respiration:

• Animal movement is restricted by keeping in pens and cages.

• Animals are kept indoors or in heated environments so that less energy is used to
generate heat.
• Antibiotics are given so less energy is used to generate an immune response.

Decomposers

Microorganism such as bacteria and fungi are able to feed off and decompose dead organic matter -
they do this by secreting digestive enzymes onto the organism. They digest the tissues of the dead
organisms into smaller molecules, such as glucose which is absorbed externally by a process
known as saprotrophic nutrition (organisms that do this are called saprobionts). Decomposers
play an important role in breaking down waste products and enabling the chemical elements to be
recycled.

Fungi form symbiotic relationships with plant roots. Fungi consist of long, thin strands called
hyphae which connect to plant roots to form structures called mycorrhizae. This increases the
surface area of the soil that the plant can obtain mineral ions from. This enables the plant to access
more minerals and the fungi receives glucose (and other organic compounds) in return.
The nitrogen cycle

Plants can only absorb nitrogen in the form of nitrate so they depend on nitrogen-fixing bacteria to
convert nitrogen in the air into nitrate in the soil. These bacteria either live freely in the soil or inside
root nodules of leguminous plants (e.g. peas, beans). This is another example of a symbiotic
relationship – the plant gets nitrates while the nitrogen-fixing bacteria get organic compounds like
glucose.

The Haber process is used to convert nitrogen into ammonia which is used in fertilisers. Nitrifying
bacteria convert the ammonium ions into nitrites which are then converted into nitrates, in a process
called nitrification. Plants absorb the nitrates and incorporate the nitrogen into amino acids which
are used to build proteins. The breakdown of proteins in our bodies produces urea which is removed
from our body in our urine.

Another source of ammonia is the decomposition of dead matter by saprobionts in a process called
ammonification. The ammonia is converted into ammonium ions in the soil.

In some conditions, denitrifying bacteria convert nitrates in the soil into nitrogen in the air. This
usually happens in soil which is lacking oxygen (anaerobic conditions), such as waterlogged soil.
Therefore, improving drainage can make soil more fertile by retaining more nitrates.
The Phosphorous Cycle

Organisms need phosphate ions to make phospholipids (for cell membranes), nucleic acids and
ATP.

When rocks are eroded away, phosphorous is released from rocks into the soil in the form of
phosphate ions. The phosphate ions can be absorbed by plants through their roots (or through
fungal threads and passed onto plants in exchange for organic compounds). The plant uses the
phosphate ions to synthesise nucleic acids and cell membranes.

When animals eat the plants, these structures are broken down and the phosphates used to build
the nucleic acids, ATP and membranes within animal cells. Phosphate ions are released from animals
in their waste products, which are released into the soil when saprobionts decompose urine and
faeces.

Weathering of rocks also releases phosphates into ponds, rivers, streams and seas. Aquatic plants
absorb the phosphate ions, which are passed along the food chain to sea birds. Guano is the
phosphate-rich waste produced by sea birds and makes an effective natural fertiliser.

Fertilisers

When crops grow, they absorb and deplete minerals from the soil. Since the crops don’t die and
decompose in the field, the nutrients aren’t returned to the soil by decomposers in the nitrogen and
phosphorous cycles.

Farmers therefore replace the lost nutrients using fertilisers. These can be natural (e.g. manure,
composted vegetables) or artificial (e.g. ammonium nitrate powder). Excessive use of fertilisers
poses environmental problems, as they can leach into nearby ponds and rivers, leading to
eutrophication.

Eutrophication

Fertilisers are used by farmers to add nitrates and phosphates to the soil. These inorganic ions are
extremely soluble and are easily washed away from soil when it rains in a process called leaching.
The rain containing dissolved nitrates makes its way into ponds and rivers where they are absorbed
by algae causing a huge increase in algal growth. The algae can divide so rapidly that they
completely cover the surface of the pond (known as algal bloom), blocking sunlight to plants
growing at the bottom of the pond. The plants die because they are unable to photosynthesise and
are decomposed by bacteria. The increasing bacterial population use up all of the available oxygen
in aerobic respiration, reducing the amount of oxygen available for other aquatic organisms, which
struggle to survive in oxygen-depleted water.
In natural fertilisers, the nitrogen and phosphorous are locked in organic molecules that need to be
decomposed before the inorganic ions are released. This means that they are released more slowly
into the soil and leaching is less likely.
Topic 5: Energy Transfers in and between
Organisms
Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis reaction

Photosynthesis combines carbon dioxide with water to form glucose and oxygen. The glucose is
used in respiration to produce energy while the oxygen is released from the plant through the
stomata. The energy released can be used for active transport of mineral ions, DNA replication and
protein synthesis.

Chloroplast structure

Photosynthesis takes in the chloroplasts of plant cells. Chloroplasts contain fluid-filled sacs called
thylakoids. Thylakoids are stacked up like pancakes to form structures which we call grana. Each
granum is connected together by pieces of thylakoid membrane called lamellae. The gel-like
substance which surrounds the thylakoids is called the stroma.
The thylakoids within the chloroplast provide a large surface area to allow as much light to be
absorbed as possible. Within the thylakoid membrane are photosystems which consist of a pigment
molecules attached to proteins. The pigment is what gives plants their colour and includes
chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and carotene. Plants contain two photosystems, called photosystem I
and photosystem II. PSI absorbs light at a wavelength of 700 nm while PSII absorbs light at a
wavelength of 680 nm.

The overall process of photosynthesis can be split into two stages: the first one stage is known as the
light-dependent reaction and (unsurprisingly) requires light to get going. The second is called the
light-independent reaction which doesn’t need light but does need the products that were generated
in the first stage.

Light-Dependent Reaction (LDR)

The LDR takes place in the thylakoid membranes of the chloroplasts. It takes place in the following
stages:

1. Light energy is absorbed by PSII (even though PSII is involved before PSI, it was discovered
afterwards - hence the confusing naming system). Light excites electrons within PSII and
causes them to move into a higher energy state. The electrons are passed onto a series of
electron carriers within the electron transport chain to PSI.
2. The electrons which have been lost from PSII need to be replaced. This happens through the
photolysis of water - light energy causes a water molecule to split apart and release hydrogen
ions, electrons and oxygen. The electrons from water replace the electrons lost from PSII.
3. As the electrons move along the electron transport chain, they move from high to low energy.
The energy lost by the electrons is used to pump hydrogen ions from the stroma into the
thylakoids. This generates a proton gradient across the thylakoid membrane.
4. Protons flow down their concentration gradient through ATP synthase. The energy from the
movement of protons is used to phosphorylate ADP to ATP (photophosphorylation) in a
process called chemiosmosis.
5. Light is absorbed by PSI causing another electron to become excited and be passed along the
rest of the electron transport chain.
6. The electron is passed onto NADP to form reduced NADP (NADPH). NADPH is an electron
carrier which transfers electrons from one molecule to another.
7. The ATP and reduced NADP move into the stroma for the next stage of photosynthesis, the light
independent reaction.
This process is known as non-cyclic photophosphorylation. There is another process called cyclic
photophosphorylation, in which electrons repeatedly cycle through PSI. Electrons leave PSI but
instead of being accepted by NADP they flow back down the chain to the first electron acceptor. This
means that ATP is produced but no NADPH and may happen when NAPDH is in plentiful supply.
Cyclic photophosphorylation is more common in plants with especially high ATP needs and may
prevent excess light damaging photosynthetic proteins.

The Light-Independent Reactions (aka the Calvin Cycle)

The Calvin Cycle takes place in the stroma of the chloroplast and uses the products of the LDR (ATP
and reduced NADP) to form glucose. The reactions which take place can be divided into three main
stages: carbon fixation, reduction and regeneration.

Carbon fixation

• Carbon dioxide is ‘fixed’ by adding it to a 5-carbon molecule called ribulose bisphosphate

(RuBP), forming a 6-carbon molecule. This reaction is catalysed by an enzyme called Rubisco.
• The 6C molecule is unstable and immediately breaks down to form two 3-carbon compounds
called glycerate-3-phosphate (GP).

Reduction

• An isomerisation reaction occurs which converts GP into a different 3-carbon compound called
glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (GALP). GALP is also known as triose phosphate (TP). This
reaction requires energy so ATP (from the light-dependent reaction) is hydrolysed into ADP.
• This reaction also requires electrons from the electron carrier reduced NADP (also from the LDR).
Reduced NADP transfers electrons to GP, reducing it to GALP.
• Some GALP is converted into organic molecules, such as glucose, but some will be used to
regenerate RuBP. For every 6 molecules of GALP, 1 is used to produce organic molecules
whereas 5 will be used for RuBP regeneration.

Regeneration

• GALP is converted back into RuBP - this process requires energy which is generated by ATP
hydrolysis.
• The cycle is completed and another round of carbon fixation can take place.
Synthesis of organic substances

GP and GALP (aka TP) are used to make all of the biological molecules that a plant needs to grow:

• Glucose is made by joining two GALP molecules together. The glucose can then be used to
build polysaccharides like starch and cellulose.
• Amino acids are made from GP.
• Glycerol is made from GALP and fatty acids are made from GP. Glycerol and fatty acids are
joined by ester bonds to form triglycerides.

Optimum conditions for photosynthesis

Light

• High light intensity means that the light-dependent reaction can work faster. So the more
light, the more photosynthesis.
• But it needs to be the right wavelength – in the red or blue part of the spectrum (chlorophyll
reflects any light in the green part of the visible spectrum).
• Gardeners grow plants in transparent greenhouses or polytunnels which let in light. They
may also use lamps to provide light at night.

Temperature

• Temperatures around 25oC allow photosynthetic enzymes to work quickly. At lower

temperatures, enzymes become inactive and at higher temperature they can denature.
• At high temperatures, the stomata will also close to conserve water. This stops gas
exchange and reduces the rate of photosynthesis.
• Greenhouses trap heat energy from sunlight. Fancier greenhouses will have heaters,
cooling systems and air circulation systems to ensure an optimum temperature is
maintained year-round.

Carbon dioxide concentration

• Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration is around 0.04%. Concentrations ten times higher
(0.4%) can maximise photosynthesis.
• Concentrations above 0.4% can cause stomatal closure and a reduction in photosynthesis.
• Gardeners can add carbon dioxide to the greenhouse by burning propane.
Investigating leaf pigments using chromatography

Leaves of a plant may contain several types of photosynthetic pigment, each of which absorbs light at
a specific wavelength. Other, non-photosynthetic pigments may be present and perform functions
such as protecting the plant from UV radiation. You can investigate which pigments are present using
thin-layer chromatography:

• Extract pigment from the leaves of a plant – grind up the leaves with anhydrous sodium
sulfate then add a few drops of propanone.
• Transfer to a test tube and shake with petroleum ether. You should get two separate layers
– the top layer contains the pigments. Transfer this top layer into a test tube containing
anhydrous sodium sulfate.
• Place drops of the extract on a
pencil line drawn along the bottom
of the TLC plate. This is the
stationary phase, made of glass
containing a thin layer of silica gel.
• The TLC plate is placed in a tank
containing a solvent (the mobile
phase). You can use a mixture of
propanone, cyclohexane and
petroleum ether as the solvent.
• Place a lid on the tank.
• As the solvent moves upwards through the gel, the pigments dissolve in the solvent and are
carried up with it.
• The more soluble the pigment, the further it will travel up the stationary phase. Since
different pigments have different solubilities, they separate out. Draw a line at the point on the
TLC plate where the solvent has reached – this is the solvent front.
• You can identify each pigment by calculating the Rf value and looking it up in a database.
This experimental set-up can be used to compare the pigments found in shady vs sunny plants. You’d
expect to find that plants adapted to grow in the shade have a larger range of pigments so they can
absorb as many wavelengths of the limited light available to it.
Investigating photosynthesis using chloroplast extract

This practical measures the rate of the light-dependent reaction by investigating how fast an
electron is transferred from the electron transport chain to NADP. The reduction of NADP is catalysed
by the dehydrogenase enzyme. It uses DCPIP, a redox indicator dye, which changes colour (from
blue to colourless) when it accepts an electron.

Method:

• Remove 2-3 leaves from a plant and add cold isolation solution. Grind the leaves into the
solution using a pestle and mortar.
• Filter to remove the leafy pieces and centrifuge the filtrate at high speed for 10 minutes.
• Pour off the liquid so that you just have the solid pellet. Re-suspend in cold isolation solution
to form the chloroplast extract. Store on ice until ready to use.
• Zero a colorimeter using a cuvette just containing chloroplast extract and distilled water.
• Add a certain volume of chloroplast extract to a series of test tubes. Place a lamp at a certain
distance from the tubes.
• Add a certain volume of DCPIP to each test tube and mix.
• Straight away, take a sample from the mixture and transfer into a new cuvette. Record its
absorbance using the colorimeter. Repeat every 2 minutes for the next 10 minutes.
• Repeat two more times and calculate a mean absorbance for each time interval.
• Control tubes:
o DCPIP + isolation solution – shows that the chloroplasts are responsible for the
colour change
o DCPIP + chloroplast extract with tube wrapped in tin foil – shows that light needs to
be present to cause the colour change
• Results: DCPIP loses colour as the reaction progresses. This experiment can be adapted to
determine the effect of light intensity. The closer the lamp to the test tubes, the quicker DCPIP
loses colour.
• Control variables: concentration and volume of DCPIP, temperature, volume of chloroplast
extract
Topic 5: Energy Transfers in and between
Organisms
Respiration
Aerobic Respiration

Aerobic respiration is made of four stages: glycolysis, the link reaction, the Krebs cycle and
oxidative phosphorylation. During aerobic respiration, glucose is effectively burned inside our
bodies (it reacts with oxygen) to produce carbon dioxide, water and lots of energy in the form of ATP.
The overall equation for aerobic respiration is:

Glycolysis

The first stage of aerobic respiration is glycolysis, which takes place in the cytoplasm. Glycolysis
converts glucose, a six-carbon molecule, into two smaller three-carbon molecules called pyruvate.
This stage doesn’t require oxygen so it is an anaerobic process and is involved in both aerobic and
anaerobic respiration pathways.
Glucose is phosphorylated using the phosphate groups from two molecules of ATP. ATP is
hydrolysed into ADP and inorganic phosphate. This forms a molecule which is unstable and
immediately breaks down into two three-carbon molecules called triose phosphate (TP). Hydrogen is
removed from TP to convert it into pyruvate. The hydrogen is transferred to a coenzyme called NAD
to form reduced NAD (NADH). The removal of hydrogen from TP oxidises it. The reduced NAD is
used in the last stage of aerobic respiration, oxidative phosphorylation, whereas the pyruvate moves
into the mitochondria for the next stage of respiration, the link reaction.

The conversion of triose phosphate to pyruvate produced four molecules of ATP. Since two molecules
were used for the phosphorylation of glucose in the first step, this means there is a net gain of two
ATP molecules in glycolysis.

The Link Reaction

The link reaction takes place in the mitochondrial matrix and converts pyruvate into a molecule
called acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl CoA). This stage does not produce any energy in the form of ATP
but does produce reduced NAD and acetyl CoA. Reduced NAD will be used in oxidative
phosphorylation while the acetyl CoA will be used in the next stage of aerobic respiration, the Krebs
cycle.

During the link reaction, a carbon atom is removed from pyruvate, forming carbon dioxide. This
converts pyruvate into a two-carbon molecule called acetate. Hydrogen is also removed from
pyruvate in the conversion into acetate, which is picked up by the coenzyme NAD to form reduced
NAD. The acetate is combined with coenzyme A (CoA) to form acetyl CoA.
Since one glucose molecule is converted into 2x pyruvate, the link reaction happens twice for every
glucose molecule. This means that each molecule of glucose produces two molecules of acetyl CoA
(along with 2x carbon dioxide and 2x NADH).

The Krebs cycle

The Krebs cycle (also known as the citric acid cycle) is a series of reactions which generate reduced
NAD and a similar molecule called reduced FAD which are needed for oxidative phosphorylation.
Acetyl CoA from the link reaction reacts with a four-carbon molecule called oxaloacetate. The
coenzyme A portion of acetyl CoA is removed and returns to the link reaction to be reused. A 6-
carbon molecule called citrate is produced. Carbon and hydrogen are removed from citrate, forming
carbon dioxide and reduced NAD. The citrate is converted into a 5-carbon compound.
Decarboxylation and dehydrogenation occur once more, which converts the 5-carbon compounds
into the 4-carbon molecule oxaloacetate which we started with. ATP, 2 molecules of reduced NAD,
one molecule of FAD and carbon dioxide are also formed in this step. This cycle takes place twice
for each glucose molecule that is respired aerobically.
Oxidative Phosphorylation

Oxidative phosphorylation is the last stage of aerobic respiration and it is the part where most of the
ATP is made. It uses the electrons that are being carried by reduced NAD and reduced FAD that
have been generated in the first three stages. It takes place across the inner mitochondrial
membrane and involves two processes - the electron transport chain and chemiosmosis.

The coenzymes reduced NAD and reduced FAD release hydrogen atoms which split into hydrogen
ions and electrons. The electrons are passed onto electron carriers which are embedded within the
inner mitochondrial membrane and travel along a series of electron carriers known as the electron
transport chain. As they travel between the electron carriers, they lose energy. This energy is used
by the carriers to pump hydrogen ions from the mitochondrial matrix across the inner membrane.
Hydrogen ions accumulate in the intermembrane space and this generates a proton gradient
(sometimes referred to as an electrochemical gradient) across the membrane. Hydrogen ions then
flow back into the matrix through the enzyme ATP synthase which uses the movement of hydrogen
ions (the proton motive force) to add a phosphate group onto ADP to form ATP. The process by
which the movement of hydrogen ions produces ATP is called chemiosmosis. Once the electrons
reach the end of the electron transport chain, they are passed onto oxygen, which is referred to as
the ‘final electron acceptor’. Oxygen combines with electrons and hydrogen ions to form water, one
of the products of aerobic respiration.
Total ATP production

Aerobic respiration produces a total of 38 ATP molecules per one molecule of glucose respired.
Here’s a breakdown of the ATP production at each of the different stages. Each molecule of reduced
NAD produces 3 ATP and each molecule of reduced FAD produces 2 ATP. Remember that the link
reaction and Krebs cycle happen twice for each molecule of glucose, because it is converted into 2x
pyruvate.

• Glycolysis: direct production of 2 ATP

• Glycolysis: 2 reduced NAD are converted into 6 ATP (2 x 3) in oxidative phosphorylation
• Link reaction: 2 reduced NAD are converted into 6 ATP (2 x 3) in oxidative phosphorylation
• Krebs cycle: direct production of 2 ATP
• Krebs cycle: 6 reduced NAD are converted into 18 ATP (6 x 3) in oxidative phosphorylation
• Krebs cycle: 2 reduced FAD are converted into 4 ATP (2 x 2) in oxidative phosphorylation
• Total ATP = 2 + 6 + 6 + 2 + 18 + 4 = 38 ATP
Measuring the rate of respiration

The rate of respiration is measured using a piece of apparatus called a respirometer and works by
measuring either the amount of oxygen used up by an organism or the amount of carbon dioxide
produced. The faster the amount of oxygen consumed, the faster the rate of respiration.

You would set up the respirometer as shown in the diagram, with respiring organisms (such as
woodlice) in one test tube connected to another test tube by a manometer. The manometer contains
a coloured liquid which will move closer towards the respiring test tube as oxygen is consumed. The
test tube on the right is a control test tube, containing a non-respiring substance, such as glass
beads. The purpose of the control tube is to ensure that only respiration is causing the movement of
liquid in the manometer. The control tube should be as similar as possible to the test tube e.g. the
glass beads should be the same mass as the woodlice. In each test tube you need to add the same
volume of potassium hydroxide solution which absorbs carbon dioxide - this ensures that the
movement of the liquid is only affected by the decreasing levels of oxygen.

Once the apparatus has been set up, it is left for a certain period of time (e.g. 30 minutes). This will
allow for the potassium hydroxide to absorb all of the carbon dioxide in the test tubes. You then
record the distance moved by the liquid in the manometer in a given time, using the calibrated
scale and a stopwatch. You then calculate the volume of oxygen taken in by the woodlice per
minute. Repeat the experiment at least three times and calculate a mean.
Anaerobic respiration

Respiration can also occur in the absence of oxygen - this is called anaerobic respiration. In
mammals, glucose can be converted into lactate (aka lactic acid) which releases a small amount of
energy in the form of ATP.

The first step of anaerobic respiration is the same as aerobic respiration: glycolysis. Glucose is
converted into pyruvate with the net release of 2 ATP molecules. 2 molecules of reduced NAD are
also formed. In the second step, reduced NAD donates hydrogen (and electrons) to pyruvate,
producing lactate and NAD. This regenerates more oxidised NAD for glycolysis. This enables
anaerobic respiration to continue and ensures that small amounts of energy can still be made in the
absence of oxygen, allowing biological reactions to keep ticking over.

Continued anaerobic respiration results in the build-up of lactate, which needs to be broken down.
Cells can convert lactate back into pyruvate, which is then able to enter aerobic respiration at the
Krebs cycle. In addition, liver cells have the ability to convert lactate into glucose, which can then
be respired aerobically (if oxygen is now present) or stored for later use.

In plants and yeast, anaerobic respiration is a little different. Pyruvate produced in glycolysis is
converted into ethanol and carbon dioxide.
Mitochondrial disease

Some diseases are caused by faulty mitochondria, which can’t make as much ATP. A lack of ATP can
cause anaerobic respiration to increase to try and top up the ATP supply. The accumulation of lactate
leads to muscle weakness and fatigue.