Biology › Section D · Energy: metabolism, respiration, photosynthesis › Topic D.2
Thermodynamics and ATP
Life breaks the rules of the lazy universe. Every energy transfer leaks heat and feeds disorder, yet cells stay organised — by paying constantly. Metabolism is the payment system, the laws of thermodynamics are the exchange rates, and ATP is the cash in hand.
In this topic
- Metabolism: the cell's energy ledger
- Energy's two working forms
- Free energy and ΔG
- Worked example: sorting four processes by ΔG
- The two laws life must obey
- Equilibrium: the state a cell must avoid
- Activation energy: the toll before the hill
- ATP: the cell's cash
- Energy coupling: spending ATP on endergonic work
- Worked example: how many ions per ATP?
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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