DP IB Biology: HL

Revision Notes

Syllabus Edition

First teaching 2014

Last exams 2024

|

8.2.2 Overview of the Stages of Respiration

Test Yourself

Stages of Respiration

An overview of respiration

  • Respiration involves the transfer of chemical potential energy from nutrient molecules (such as carbohydrates, fats and proteins) into a usable energy form (through the synthesis of ATP) that can be used for work within an organism
  • It is a vital process that takes place in the cells of all living organisms
  • There are two forms of respiration depending on the oxygen availability of the cell:
    • Aerobic respiration
    • Anaerobic respiration
  • Aerobic respiration is the process of breaking down a respiratory substrate in order to produce ATP using oxygen
  • Anaerobic respiration takes place in the absence of oxygen and also breaks down a respiratory substrate but produces less ATP for the cell
  • The main respiratory substrate involved in respiration is glucose
Comparison of Aerobic & Anaerobic Respiration Table

Comparing Aerobic and Anaerobic respiration table

Aerobic respiration

  • Aerobic respiration can be summarised by the following equation
    • Glucose + oxygen →  carbon dioxide + water + energy
Balanced equation for aerobic respiration

The stages of aerobic respiration 

  • The process of aerobic respiration using glucose can be split into four stages
  • Each stage occurs at a particular location in a eukaryotic cell:
    • Glycolysis takes place in the cytoplasm
    • The link reaction takes place in the matrix of the mitochondria
    • The Krebs Cycle takes place in the matrix of the mitochondria
    • Oxidative phosphorylation which involves the electron transport chain and chemiosmosis and occurs at the inner membrane of the mitochondria

respiration-overview

Overview of the four stages of aerobic respiration

Four Stages of Respiration Table

Four Stages of Respiration Table, downloadable AS & A Level Biology revision notes

Exam Tip

It’s important to know the exact locations of each stage. It is not enough to say the Krebs cycle takes place in the mitochondria, you need to say it takes place in the matrix of the mitochondria.

You've read 0 of your 0 free revision notes

Get unlimited access

to absolutely everything:

  • Downloadable PDFs
  • Unlimited Revision Notes
  • Topic Questions
  • Past Papers
  • Model Answers
  • Videos (Maths and Science)

Join the 80,663 Students that ❤️ Save My Exams

the (exam) results speak for themselves:

Did this page help you?

Cara Head

Author: Cara Head

Cara graduated from the University of Exeter in 2005 with a degree in Biological Sciences. She has fifteen years of experience teaching the Sciences at KS3 to KS5, and Psychology at A-Level. Cara has taught in a range of secondary schools across the South West of England before joining the team at SME. Cara is passionate about Biology and creating resources that bring the subject alive and deepen students' understanding