Cellular Respiration Equation

Cellular respiration is a common process that is carried out by many organisms to make and release energy. Cellular respiration is basically a process through which the cells covert glucose and oxygen to carbon dioxide and water and hence release energy, for ATP. ATP stands for Adenosine triphosphate and is the free energy that is used by cells. It is basically an organic molecule that contains high energy phosphate bonds. When a phosphate is passed from ATP to another molecule, that molecule tends to gain energy. This reaction in which a molecule gains energy is known as endergonic reaction. The molecule from which the phosphate is removed tends to lose energy and give off heat. Such a reaction is known as exergonic reaction and the energy level of the molecule decreases.

Cellular respiration is different from photosynthesis and is usually an aerobic reaction, that is, occurs in presence of oxygen. There are four distinct process that divide the total cellular respiration process. Let us see the four steps involved in short and then go into the details of what is cellular respiration equation.

Steps Involved in Cellular Respiration

• The first step involves glycolysis. Glycolysis takes place in the cell's cytoplasm and is an anaerobic process, that is, does not require oxygen. Glucose in broken down into two molecules of pyruvate in a 10 step process yielding 2 ATP's.
• The next step involves the entry of pyruvate into the mitochondria that leads to production of two molecules of acetyl-coenzyme A and 2 molecules of CO₂.
• The third step involves Krebs Citric Acid Cycle (KCAC). This is a 9 step reaction that takes place within the mitochondria. The reactions yield 2 ATP's and 4 CO₂ molecules
• The last step involves the Electron Transport System or cytochrome system, that takes place with help of enzymes that are located in the inner mitochondrial membrane. This steps yields the maximum number of ATP's that is, 32 ATP molecules, that makes the total energy produced to 36 ATPs.

These complex reactions leads to production of 36 ATP's by utilizing one glucose molecule and six oxygen molecules.

Equation for Cellular Respiration

The cellular respiration equation is as follows:

C₆H₁₂O₆ + O₂ ---> H₂O + CO₂ + 36ATP

You can gather more information on aerobic and anaerobic respiration.

Equation for Cellular Respiration in Words

The equation of cellular respiration is written words as follows:

Glucose + Oxygen ---> Carbon dioxide + Water + Energy Released (ATP)

Balanced Equation for Cellular Respiration

The balanced cellular respiration equation yields 36 or 38 ATP molecules that depends on the extramitochondrial NADH reducing equivalents which are recycled for glycolysis like glycerol 3- phosphate that gives 36 ATP molecules and malate or aspartate shuttle yields 38 ATP's.

C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂ ------> 6CO₂ + 6H₂O + 36 or 38 ATPs

This is the balanced equation that yields energy. Cellular respiration helps cells break sugar which helps in producing energy. It is an oxidation-reduction process or redox reaction. The oxidation of glucose as CO₂ + H₂O with an electron removed from C₆H₁₂O₆. The reduction of oxygen to water with the passage of electron to oxygen is the reduction reaction. The NAD⁺ (nictotinadenine dinucleotide) is a co-enzyme that is reduced to NADH, when it picks up two electrons and one hydrogen ion making it an energy carrier molecule. Flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD⁺) gets reduced to FADH₂ making it another co-enzyme that is an electron carrier.

The cellular respiration equation is a part of metabolic pathway that breaks down complex carbohydrates. It is an exergonic reaction where a high energy glucose molecules is broken down into carbon dioxide and water. It is also known as a catabolic reaction as a large molecule like carbohydrate is broken down to smaller molecules. I hope this article proves to be useful in answering your question on what is cellular respiration. This article is just a small summary of the very complex reaction of cellular respiration that produces energy for the cell.