Does respiration need energy

Answer 1

Glucose and Oxygen are vital parts for making respiration happen. but more important is where and how you get these i think.

Improvement:

Aerobic respiration consists of 4 components. Glycolysis, link reaction, the Krebs cycle and lastly, electron transport chain reaction.

I shall define respiration as the complete oxidation of glucose into ATP, a universal energy currency which means that sugar we eat will be completely converted into energy.

Glucose's has 2 phases and will require an initial input of energy and glucose (in the form of ATP) in the energy investment phase but will ultimately generate twice the amount of ATP used in the energy payoff phase by the end of glucose's. The end product of glucose's will be pyruvate. From here, the pyruvate will be used in the link reaction. Also, note that in glycolysis, something called NAD is being reduced to NADH. (this is like storing money in a bank in a foreign currency; it isn't really useable yet, but will be withdrawn later)

The link reaction converts the pyruvate into Acetyl CoA, which will then be used in the Krebs cycle. This reaction also converts NAD into NADH. ( more "energy" deposit )

In the Krebs cycle, a lot more of such NAD is converted into NADH.

Now, all that NADH produced will be used in the electron transport chain. However, to succesfully extract the energy in the NADH (converting the cash into local currency), there must be oxygen present. This is because of the nature of the electron transport chain. Electrons are extracted from the NADH and passed down through a chain of proteins, generating energy. When the electron leaves the chain, it will be absorbed into oxygen to form water. A lack in oxygen will prevent this from happening.

So, in a nutshell, you will need glucose, some energy and oxygen for respiration.

Answer 2

Yes. Respiration need energy for it to occur - something needs to fuel the reaction.