Order the atoms involved in cellular respiration from most prevalent to least. Choose the one correct answer and explain why it is the correct answer.

Question

A. H, C, O
B. H, O, C
C. O, H, C
D. C, H, O

Answer 1

The correct answer is A. H, C, O.

Explanation:

1. Most Prevalent Atom: Hydrogen (H):

   • In cellular respiration, particularly in the breakdown of glucose (C₆H₁₂O₆), hydrogen atoms are abundant. Each glucose molecule contains 12 hydrogen atoms, and in metabolic processes, a large number of hydrogen ions (H⁺) are also involved in electron transport chains and redox reactions.

2. Second Most Prevalent Atom: Carbon (C):

   • Glucose consists of six carbon atoms. While carbon is crucial to the structure of cellular respiration substrates like glucose and its breakdown products, it is less prevalent in terms of sheer atomic count when considering the entirety of the hydrogen and oxygen involved in metabolism.

3. Least Prevalent Atom: Oxygen (O):

   • Although oxygen plays a critical role as the final electron acceptor in the electron transport chain and is also a part of molecular reactants and products (like water and carbon dioxide), in terms of absolute counts in glucose's typical metabolic pathways when fully accounted for, it is less abundant than hydrogen and carbon.

Therefore, when ordered from most to least prevalent in cellular respiration based on their counts and roles, the answer is A. H, C, O.