Answer:
Glucose is a six-carbon sugar molecule with the molecular formula C6H12O6, while pyruvic acid is a three-carbon molecule with the molecular formula C3H4O3. During the process of glycolysis, which is the breakdown of glucose to produce energy, one molecule of glucose is converted into two molecules of pyruvic acid.
- This happens because glucose is first broken down into two molecules of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (G3P), which are three-carbon molecules. Each G3P molecule is then converted into a molecule of pyruvic acid. Therefore, the two G3P molecules that are produced from one glucose molecule are converted into two molecules of pyruvic acid.
REASON :
So, the reason why there is one molecule of glucose on the left side of the arrow and two molecules of pyruvic acid on the right side of the arrow is because one molecule of glucose produces two molecules of pyruvic acid during glycolysis. This is due to the fact that the six-carbon glucose molecule is broken down into two three-carbon molecules, each of which is converted into a molecule of pyruvic acid.