Final answer:
To convert energy in starch to alcohol, we start with the breakdown of starch into maltose, then convert maltose to glucose using enzymes. Next, in anaerobic conditions, yeast ferments the glucose into pyruvic acid. Finally, pyruvic acid is transformed into alcohol and CO2 through alcoholic fermentation catalyzed by pyruvate decarboxylase and alcohol dehydrogenase.
Step-by-step explanation:
To describe the conversion of energy in starch to energy in alcohol, we can place the steps in the following order:
- Starch in barley seeds, with energy from the sun in its chemical bonds, is converted to maltose using enzymes. This process begins with the starch in grains being broken down by enzymes into smaller sugar molecules such as maltose.
- Yeast uses an enzyme to break maltose into glucose molecules, the simpler form of sugar that yeast can ferment.
- In the absence of oxygen, yeast breaks down glucose through a process called fermentation. During this pathway, glucose is converted to pyruvic acid.
- Pyruvic acid is then converted to carbon dioxide, alcohol, and ATP through alcoholic fermentation. The enzyme pyruvate decarboxylase removes a carboxyl group from pyruvate, producing acetaldehyde.
- Alcohol dehydrogenase catalyzes the reaction that converts acetaldehyde to ethanol (alcohol), simultaneously regenerating NAD+ from NADH, which allows glycolysis to continue.
The energy from the glucose bonds is stored in the bonds of the products of fermentation, including alcohol.