Question

How does atp become adp

Answer 1

ATP becomes ADP through hydrolysis, which involves the breaking of a high-energy phosphate bond by the addition of water, releasing energy. This reaction is reversible; ATP can be regenerated from ADP and phosphate using energy from cellular respiration or photosynthesis.

Step-by-step explanation:

ATP (adenosine triphosphate) becomes ADP (adenosine diphosphate) through a process called hydrolysis. This involves the addition of a water molecule (H2O) to ATP, which results in the breaking of one of its high-energy phosphate bonds. The reaction releases energy that the cell can use for various functions. Specifically, the equation for this reaction is ATP + H2O → ADP + Pi + energy. The inorganic phosphate released is denoted as Pi.

Cells can regenerate ATP from ADP and Pi by reversing the hydrolysis reaction. This reverse process, called phosphorylation, requires an input of energy. It can occur during cellular respiration or photosynthesis, where the energy is sourced from the breakdown of food or absorption of sunlight, respectively. The reverse equation is often expressed as ADP + Pi + free energy → ATP + H2O.

Those phosphate bonds in ATP are high energy because the phosphate groups have negative charges that repel each other. It takes energy to keep them together, and when the bond is broken, energy is released. This is why ATP is often referred to as the energy currency of the cell.

Answer 2

If a cell needs to spend energy to accomplish a task, the ATP molecule splits off one of its three phosphates, becoming ADP (Adenosine di-phosphate) + phosphate. The energy holding that phosphate molecule is now released and available to do work for the cell.