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