Metabolism
The totality of an organism's chemical reactions
Manages the material and energy resources of the cell
Metabolic Pathway
A sequence of chemical reactions undergone by a compound or class of compounds in a living organism
Catabolic Pathway
Breaking down complex molecules to simpler compounds
Anabolic Pathway
Consume energy to build complicated molecules from simpler ones
Sometimes called biosynthetic pathways
Bioenergetics
The study of how energy flows through living organisms
Energy
The capacity to cause change
Kinetic Energy
Relative motion of objects
Thermal energy
Kinetic energy associated with the random movement of atoms or molecules
Heat
Thermal energy in transfer from one object to another
Potential Energy
Energy that matter possesses because of its location or structure
Chemical Energy
Potential energy available for release in a chemical reaction
Thermodynamics
The study of the energy transformations that occur in a collection of matter
The 1st Law of Thermodynamics
The energy of the universe is constant:
Energy can be transferred and transformed, but it cannot be created or destroyed.
Also known as the Principle of Conservation of Energy.
The 2nd Law of Thermodynamics
Every energy transfer or transformation increases the entropy (disorder) of the universe.
Entropy
Disorder or randomness
Spontaneous Process
Process can proceed without requiring an input of energy
Free Energy
The portion of a system’s energy that can perform work when temperature and pressure are uniform throughout the system
Change in Free Energy Equation
ΔG = ΔH - TΔS