Question

if the structural formula on the left looks vaguely familiar, its because atp consists of three phosphate groups attached to the 5 - carbon sugar ribose and the nitrogenous base adenine. the nucleotide base adenine, which youve seen as the a in dna and rna sequences, consists of ribose, adenine, and one phosphate group. see if you can find the corresponding parts of the structural formula on the left and the space - filling model on the right, noting that in space - filling models, artists always use black for carbon atoms, white for hydrogen, red for oxygen, blue for nitrogen, and orange for phosphate.
the key thing to notice on both models of atp is just how closely packed the four negative charges on the phosphate groups are.
due to the close proximity of so many full negative charges, atp has extremely high potential energy. why do the presence of these charges increase potential energy?
the like charges repel each other, pushing the electrons involved out and away from the positive charges in nuclei. this gives the molecule extremely high potential energy.
the closely packed negative charges attract positive charges on ions and other molecules, making them move toward atp and powering movement and other work in the cell.
the like charges attract, making the molecule exceptionally stable and thus a key component of cell

Explanation:

Like charges repel each other. In ATP, the negative charges on phosphate groups are close - packed. The repulsion between these like charges (negative - negative) causes the electrons to be pushed away from the positive charges in nuclei. This electron - nucleus separation gives the molecule high potential energy as potential energy is related to the position of charged particles in an electric field.

Answer:

The like charges repel each other, pushing the electrons involved out and away from the positive charges in nuclei. This gives the molecule extremely high potential energy.