1. Adenosine Triphosphate
October 2014

2. If I put crude oil into an automobile, will the vehicle work?

3. The crude oil must be refined into a product that the vehicle can use…

4. Likewise…the food that you eat cannot be directly used by your cells…

5. Energy from the food that you eat must be converted into ATP…

6. ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate): a nucleic acid that carries energy from one part of the cell to another. ATP comes from the breakdown of food.

7. ADP (Adenosine Diphosphate): a nucleic acid similar to ATP but with one less phosphate group (PO4). ADP is “produced” when a cell removes a PO4 from ATP because it needs energy.

8. Your body can obtain ATP from … Lipids yield the largest number of ATP
Polysaccharides
Proteins

9. ATP come from lipids and sugars, but how are these energy-rich molecules made?

10. Photosynthesis: converting light into chemical energy
Photosynthesis: converting light into chemical energy. Plants are known as autotrophs. Auto means “self”. troph means “nourish”.

11. Most of the energy within living things came from the sun at some point.

12. Energy from fossil fuels also came from the sun thanks to photosynthesis. Oil from ancient animals. Coal from ancient plants.