Final answer:
Glucose stores more than ninety times the energy contained in one ATP molecule and is critical for long-term energy storage in cells.
Step-by-step explanation:
A molecule that stores more energy than ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) is glucose. ATP is widely known as the energy currency of the cell due to its role in transferring energy from catabolic to anabolic processes within the cell. It consists of adenosine, which is made of a nitrogenous base and a five-carbon sugar, and three phosphate groups linked together, where the energy is stored. When ATP is broken down into ADP (adenosine diphosphate) and inorganic phosphate, this energy is released to be used for cellular work.The molecule that stores more than ninety times the energy in an ATP molecule is glucose. During cellular respiration, about 36 to 38 ATP molecules are produced for every glucose molecule. Glucose is broken down through catabolic reactions, releasing energy that is harvested to produce ATP. This makes glucose a molecule that stores significantly more energy than ATP.
However, glucose stores much more energy than a singular ATP molecule. In the process of cellular respiration, a single glucose molecule can yield approximately 36 to 38 molecules of ATP, demonstrating that glucose has a higher energy storage capacity. Therefore, for long-term energy storage and high-energy requirements, cells rely on glucose. Glucose can store over ninety times the energy in a single ATP molecule, making it a vital source of energy for sustained cellular processes.