What A Cell Needs

Introduction: Welcome to the second part of unit two! This part involves nutrition! In this particular section, we are going to reverse some and look at what a cell needs, such as energy, and the cycles it goes through. We are also going to look at how glucose enters the cell.

ATP

First off, cells need oxygen for respiration. As a reminder, respirations are the metabolic reactions that use energy. Here is a picture of ADP gaining energy and being turned into ATP to be used in the cell from http://ghs.gresham.k12.or.us.

Glycolosis & Kreb's Cycle

Glycolosis & Kreb's are the main way that cells make ATP. I remember in high school I had to memorize each of these cycles, be able to diagram them, and then explain them. Unfortunately, I can look at the cycle and have a general idea as to what is going on, but nothing like I used to know.

Here is an image of the Glycolosis process also obtained from http://ghs.gresham.k12.or.us.
Then there is Kreb's cycle. Again, I used to know much more about it than I do now. Here is an image depicting the Kreb's cycle from http://www.uic.edu.
This is a simple diagram showing that the cell takes two Acetyl-CoA and eventually turns it into ATP by multiplying it and taking out certain elements.

Welcome Glucose

A good question is How does glucose enter the cell? Glucose is energy and enters the cell through controlled diffusion. This means it goes through the cell membrane by way of a special protein spore. Insulin, the protein secreted in response to glucose, stimulates cells to either take the glucose, store it, or use it in cellular metabolism. This is a very complex process, that I have just made sound very simple. Unfortunately, I did not have any success in locating images of controlled diffusion.

Conclusion: That wraps up our rewind to cells. This section informed, in a very simple manner, as to how glucose enters the cell. It also showed images of glycolosis and Kreb's as well as a little information on ATP. Next up is the digestive system!