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What are the primary reactants and products of the Citric Acid Cycle (Krebs Cycle)?

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Final answer:

The Citric Acid Cycle begins with acetyl-CoA and oxaloacetate as reactants and produces NADH, FADH2, ATP or GTP, and carbon dioxide as products per turn.

Step-by-step explanation:

The primary reactants of the Citric Acid Cycle (also known as the Krebs Cycle) are acetyl-CoA and oxaloacetate (OAA). The cycle starts with the combination of acetyl-CoA with oxaloacetate to form citric acid, which is a six-carbon molecule.

This begins a series of reactions that generate energy through the release of electrons to the energy-carrying electron carriers NAD+ and FAD, which are reduced to NADH and FADH₂, respectively. Moreover, ATP is produced, and carbon dioxide (CO₂) is released as waste. The cycle concludes when oxaloacetate is regenerated to sustain the cycle.

The primary products of the Citric Acid Cycle per turn include three molecules of NADH, one molecule of FADH₂, and one molecule of ATP or GTP (guanosine triphosphate), as well as two molecules of carbon dioxide. These end products are critical for the cell's production of ATP through the subsequent electron transport chain.

Overall, the Citric Acid Cycle plays a central role in cellular respiration and is amphibolic in nature, meaning it is involved in both the breakdown (catabolic) and synthesis (anabolic) of compounds within the cell.

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