Final answer:
The energy from glucose in cellular respiration is initially located in the chemical bonds of glucose, transferred to electron carriers, and finally used in the mitochondria's electron transport chain to synthesize ATP, which stores energy in its phosphate bonds.
Step-by-step explanation:
In between the glucose that enters cellular respiration and the ATP that is produced, energy is first located within the chemical bonds of glucose and later transferred to electron carriers during glycolysis and the Krebs cycle. This energy is then used in the electron transport chain to synthesize ATP.During glycolysis, in the cytoplasm, glucose is broken down, and a net gain of two ATP molecules is produced, along with molecules of NADH. Within the mitochondria, more specifically during the Krebs cycle and the electron transport chain, the energy stored in electron carriers like NADH is used to produce a much larger amount of ATP.
The process of oxidative phosphorylation in the mitochondria powers the conversion of ADP to ATP, utilizing the energy derived from the electrons that were originally part of the glucose molecule.The energy is effectively stored in the bonds between the phosphate groups (PO4-) of the ATP molecule. When ATP is hydrolyzed to ADP and inorganic phosphate, energy is released for cellular work. Ultimately, the energy that was once in glucose is transferred to roughly 36 to 38 ATP molecules for the cell's use.