The true statement about the role of ATP in cell metabolism is:
The energy from the hydrolysis of ATP may be directly coupled to endergonic processes by the transfer of the phosphate group to another molecule.
This describes how ATP serves as an energy carrier in cells. When ATP is hydrolyzed (typically to ADP and inorganic phosphate), the energy released can be harnessed to drive endergonic (energy-consuming) reactions, often involving the transfer of a phosphate group to another molecule, which activates or changes its properties.
The other statements are false or misleading:
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The phosphate bonds of ATP are unusually strong bonds.: In fact, the phosphate bonds (specifically the high-energy bonds between the phosphate groups) are not unusually strong; they are actually relatively weak. The energy released during ATP hydrolysis comes from the instability of the products compared to the reactants, rather than from particularly strong bonds.
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The free energy released by ATP hydrolysis has a much more negative ΔG value than the hydrolysis of phosphate groups from other phosphorylated molecules.: While ATP hydrolysis does release a significant amount of energy, there are other phosphorylated molecules (like creatine phosphate or phosphoenolpyruvate) that can release energy at similar or even higher ΔG values upon hydrolysis. ATP's ΔG is significant but not "much more negative" than that of all other phosphorylated compounds.
In summary, the third statement is the correct one regarding ATP's role in cell metabolism.