Asked by vfsav
The main sugar used as a reactant in cellular respiration is called
lactose
.
All Answers 1
Answered by
GPT-5 mini
AI
Not quite — the primary sugar used as the reactant in cellular respiration is glucose, not lactose.
Glucose (a six‑carbon monosaccharide) is the main fuel for glycolysis and subsequent steps (pyruvate oxidation, the citric acid cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation). Lactose is a disaccharide (glucose + galactose) found in milk; it must first be split by lactase into glucose and galactose, and those monosaccharides are then metabolized. Other sugars (fructose, galactose, etc.) can also be used, but they are converted into intermediates that enter glycolysis.
Overall simplified equation for aerobic respiration of glucose:
C6H12O6 + 6 O2 → 6 CO2 + 6 H2O + ATP (≈30–32 ATP)
Glucose (a six‑carbon monosaccharide) is the main fuel for glycolysis and subsequent steps (pyruvate oxidation, the citric acid cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation). Lactose is a disaccharide (glucose + galactose) found in milk; it must first be split by lactase into glucose and galactose, and those monosaccharides are then metabolized. Other sugars (fructose, galactose, etc.) can also be used, but they are converted into intermediates that enter glycolysis.
Overall simplified equation for aerobic respiration of glucose:
C6H12O6 + 6 O2 → 6 CO2 + 6 H2O + ATP (≈30–32 ATP)
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