Question

1. protons enter and flow through the fo subunit, making it spin.
2. the axle attached to the rotor spins in response.
3. this twisting force generated by the axle makes the f1 subunit change shape in a way that catalyzes the addition of a phosphate group to adp, forming atp.

life scientists use the term oxidative phosphorylation to refer to the combined action of 1) the etc, which produces a proton gradient, and 2) atp synthase, which uses the proton gradient to produce atp. the term is logical because 1) oxygen is used as the final electron acceptor in the etc that generates the proton gradient, and 2) adp is phosphorylated to yield atp.
oxidative phosphorylation is how 90% of the atp that results from cellular respiration is produced. glycolysis and the citric acid cycle produce a little atp; the etc and atp synthase produce a lot.
evaluate whether the following statement is true or false:
atp synthase is considered an enzyme because it 1) is a protein, 2) catalyzes a reaction—specifically the addition of a phosphate group to adp to form atp, via the mechanical twisting force generated in the f1 subunit, and 3) is unchanged after the reaction.
true
false
evaluate whether the following statements are true or false:
atp synthase uses mechanical force to generate atp, which involves formation of a new chemical bond. this is an example of an energy transformation.
true
false

Explanation:

Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions and remain unchanged after the reaction. ATP synthase meets these criteria as it is a protein (criterion 1), catalyzes the addition of a phosphate group to ADP to form ATP (criterion 2), and is unchanged after the reaction (criterion 3). Energy transformation occurs when one form of energy (mechanical force in this case) is converted into another form (chemical energy in the new bond of ATP).

Answer:

1. True
2. True