Question

What happens during anaerobic cellular respiration?

Answer 1

In anaerobic respiration, one molecule of glucose is broken down into two molecules of ethanol (in yeast) or lactic acid (in muscle cells) with a net gain of two molecules of ATP (adenosine triphosphate).

Two molecules of carbon dioxide are released as the byproduct.

It helps in regenerating the NAD⁺ lost in the process of glycolysis.

The overall process is termed as fermentation.

Lactic acid fermentation is catalyzed by the enzyme lactate dehydrogenase and alcohol (ethanol) fermentation is a two-step process which is catalyzed by pyruvate decarboxylase and alcohol dehydrogenase.

Answer 2

During aerobic respiration, the cells still need to release energy without oxygen. therefore, they directly split glucose to form lactic acid. this releases a lot less energy than aerobic respiration and the lactic acid accumulates in your muscles, causing aching.