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How is energy contained in atp used in the cell

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well ATP is called adenosine triphosphate...it's an adenine group with 3 phosphates attached to it. when a bond between the phosphates breaks, energy is released for the cell to use. the sequence is ATP -> ADP -> AMP keep in mind, it takes way less energy to rebuild the bond than the actual amount of energy that is released once the bond is broken. ATP changing into ADP is used in the many steps of cellular respiration
professor_felix8.
02 March 2017
Not sure if the answers give were what you wanted or whether you were actually asking how the energy is then used in the cell - for example: if the cell is a muscle cell the energy is used in contraction; What level are you studying at?
Ruth W.
02 March 2017
Think of ATP as a "currency" that the cells use to exchange energy.  When ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is used, it is broken down by phosphatases.  Phosphatases hydrolyze the bond between ADP - Pi (Pi is phosphate), which is called dephosphorylation.  This dephosphorylation reaction releases energy that the cell can use.  So when a protein (ie. an enzyme) in a cell has an ATP group added to it, it is "turned on" and becomes active as it can use this "energy".
krista
09 March 2017
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