Question

The conversion of 1 mol of pyruvate to 3 mol of CO2 via pyruvate dehydrogenase and the citric acid cycle also yields _____ mol of NADH, _____ mol of FADH2, and _____ mol of ATP (or GTP).

Answer 1

The answer is:

The conversion of 1 mol of pyruvate to 3 mol of CO2 via pyruvate dehydrogenase and the citric acid cycle also yields 4 mol of NADH, 1 mol of FADH2, and 1 mol of ATP (or GTP).

Step-by-step explanation:

Conversion of 1 mol of pyruvate to 3 mol of CO2 through the enzyme pyruvate dehydrogenase and by the citric acid cycle produces 4 mol of NADH, 1 mol of FADH2 and 1 mol of ATP.

The reaction is:

pyruvate + CoASH + NAD⁺→ acetylCoA + NADH + H⁺ + CO₂ (1 mol of NADH is released)

3 moles of NADH, 1 mole of FADH2 and 1 mole of GTP are produced in the citric acid cycle. In this way, the number of total moles of NADH that is produced is 4, while FADH2 is 1 and GTP is 1.

Answer 2

In the order appearing in the question: 4, 1 and 1.

Step-by-step explanation:

The stoichiometry of the conversion of pyruvate into CO2 shows that 1 mol of pyruvate also yields 4 moles of NADH, 1 mol of FADH2 and 1 mol of ATP.