Animals get carbon mainly by eating other living things, like plants and other animals. When these animals eat, they consume the carbon that’s contained in the food. For example, when an animal munches on a plant, it's taking in carbon compounds that are stored in the plant’s parts, mostly as sugars, proteins, and fats.

Question

Inside the animal, the food they ate goes through a process called cellular respiration. This is how the cells get energy from the food. It’s kind of like breaking down the food to use it for fuel, and it makes a waste product as well. The overall reaction can be shown like this:

Here’s what that means:

Glucose (C₆H₁₂O₆) comes from the food animals eat and is their main source of energy.
Oxygen (O₂) is needed from the air they breathe.
When the glucose is broken down, it releases carbon dioxide (CO₂) as a waste product. This is part of what happens when animals breathe out.
Cellular respiration happens in a few steps:

Glycolysis: This first step happens in the cytoplasm (the jelly-like stuff inside cells) where glucose is split into two smaller pieces called pyruvate. This releases a little bit of energy and makes a few ATP (energy currency of the cell) molecules.

Citric Acid Cycle: The pyruvate then goes into the mitochondria (often called the powerhouse of the cell) and is broken down further in a series of reactions. This produces more ATP, along with some other energy-carrying molecules, and releases CO₂ as waste.

Oxidative Phosphorylation: Finally, the energy-rich molecules made before (NADH and FADH₂) send electrons through a chain inside the mitochondria. This step produces a lot of ATP. At the end of the chain, oxygen combines with hydrogen to form water and releases even more CO₂.

make this into 125 words

Answer 1

Animals obtain carbon by consuming other living things, like plants and other animals. When they eat, they take in carbon compounds, mainly sugars, proteins, and fats. The food undergoes cellular respiration to convert it into energy. This process involves three main stages:

1. Glycolysis: Occurs in the cytoplasm, where glucose (C₆H₁₂O₆) is split into two pyruvate molecules, producing some ATP.

2. Citric Acid Cycle: The pyruvate enters the mitochondria, where it's further broken down, generating more ATP and releasing carbon dioxide (CO₂) as a waste product.

3. Oxidative Phosphorylation: Here, energy-rich molecules (NADH and FADH₂) transfer electrons through a chain, producing a significant amount of ATP. Oxygen combines with hydrogen, forming water and releasing additional CO₂.