Chapter 2
ATP
Chapter map
Specification link-up
3.4.2 – ATP provides the immediate source of energy for biological processes.
• ATP
Chapter teacher guide
This is a short chapter, which describes the flow
of energy in terms of its storage intermediate,
ATP. It describes what energy is, how ATP is
synthesised, and how ATP stores energy. This
chapter will prepare students for the chapters on
photosynthesis and respiration.
Students need to be aware that energy cannot
be created or destroyed; it is simply transformed
from one type of energy into another.
Common misconceptions
Some students may think that energy is made
during respiration, especially since they are
taught that the formula for respiration is: glucose
+ oxygen g carbon dioxide + water (+ energy).
Instead, students must understand that ATP is
synthesised during the process of respiration as
an energy storage molecule. This molecule can be
hydrolysed to ADP to release the energy needed
for a particular reaction to occur.
2.1 Energy and ATP
Specification link up 3.4.2: ATP
What is energy and why do organisms need it?
How does ATP store energy?
How is ATP synthesised?
What is the role of ATP in biological processes?
© Oxford University Press 2014 http://www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/acknowledgements
This resource sheet may have been changed from the original.
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