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Could you help me to clarify why at the end of the electron transport chain in c

ID: 13931 • Letter: C

Question

Could you help me to clarify why at the end of the electron transport chain in cellular respiration just have two electrons which are transferred to oxygen although NADH and FADH2 each donate an equivalent number of electrons (2) for oxygen reduction?

the equation: 2H+ + 1/2O2 = H2O

Explanation / Answer

First, for each molecule of pyruvate that is broken down, the following occurs: 2NAD => 2NADH (so there are one electron and one H+ accepted per molecule) and 2FAD => 2FADH2 (so two electrons and two H+ are accepted per molecule). After the H+ are pumped across the mitochondrial membrane, there are a total of 6 electrons from the one molecule of glucose. 3 oxygen molecules accept 2 electrons each, which means there is a total of 3 water molecules formed per pyruvate molecule. 2 pyruvate = 1 glucose, so a total of 6 water molecules are formed. This balances the equation C6H12O6 + 6O2 => 6H2O + 6CO2. Hope this was helpful.

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