Every explanation I’ve seen for this doesn’t really explain how it works, just that hydrolyzing ATP releases the energy it has.
But how does that actually power the reactions in our cells? What type of energy is released and how does it work to move and make other molecules?
In: 12
The bonds in the phosphate group have a lot of energy because they are not very stable due to the close positions of the lone pairs on the oxygens. These lone pairs repel each other, so it’s basically a struggle for these phosphates to be in near proximity to each other and they can’t wait to be away. When the bond is broken, it is very energetically favorable (has a negative value of Gibbs free energy) and this energy that is released from bond breakage is used to push forward other reactions.
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