Question

If you must sprint to escape your pursuers, why is it that glycolysis will generate the most ATP during a sprint lasting several minutes?

a) Because glycolysis can generate significant power and has sufficient energy reserves to sustain an effort for several minutes
b) Because after 20 seconds of sprinting, ATP and CP stores are completely depleted in the muscle as well as muscle glycogen stores, glycolysis then begins its work of converting energy from blood glucose for the next few minutes
c) Because glycolysis is the energy transformation system that generates the most ATP of all the energy transformation systems in the human body
d) None of these answers
e) Because after 20 seconds of sprinting, the ATP and CP stores in the muscle are completely depleted and glycolysis begins its work of converting energy for the next few minutes

Answer 1

During a sprint, as ATP and creatine phosphate are quickly used, glycolysis becomes the main energy source by converting glucose to ATP for several minutes, due to insufficient oxygen for aerobic respiration.

Step-by-step explanation:

If you must sprint to escape your pursuers, glycolysis will generate the most ATP during a sprint lasting several minutes because after about 20 seconds of sprinting, the ATP and creatine phosphate (CP) stores in the muscle are rapidly depleted. Glycolysis then begins its work of converting glucose from blood or muscle glycogen into energy. Glycolysis can supply the energy needs at a high rate and has sufficient energy reserves to sustain an effort for several minutes, making it the primary energy-producing process during high-intensity, short-duration activities like sprinting. While glycolysis is not the system generating the most ATP overall (that's aerobic respiration), in the context of a several-minute sprint where oxygen delivery is insufficient, glycolysis is the predominant pathway.