Nimo

Study smarter with Nimo

Personalised revision that adapts to you. Ace your revision with unlimited practice questions that are designed to help you learn faster. We're slowly rolling out to more and more students.

Try Nimo

Anaerobic respiration and fermentation overview

Bioenergetics • Respiration

Key concepts

What you'll likely be quizzed about

  • Anaerobic respiration in yeast and many plant cells uses glucose to produce ethanol and carbon dioxide, represented by the word equation: glucose → ethanol + carbon dioxide.
  • This reaction forms the basis of fermentation in yeast.
  • In muscle cells, an alternative anaerobic pathway occurs under low oxygen conditions, resulting in the equation: glucose → lactic acid.
  • Lactic acid accumulates in muscle tissue during intense exercise and is later converted back to glucose when oxygen becomes available.

Flashcards

Test your knowledge with interactive flashcards

What method can be used to measure yeast respiration rate?

Click to reveal answer

Measure the volume of gas produced using a gas syringe or count bubbles trapped in equipment under anaerobic conditions.

Key notes

Important points to keep in mind

Anaerobic respiration occurs when oxygen supply is insufficient.

Yeast/plant anaerobic word equation: glucose → ethanol + carbon dioxide.

Muscle anaerobic word equation: glucose → lactic acid.

Fermentation refers specifically to anaerobic respiration in yeast used in baking and brewing.

Aerobic respiration releases far more energy due to complete oxidation of glucose in mitochondria.

Lactic acid is removed or oxidised after exercise when oxygen becomes available.

Baking evaporates ethanol and kills the yeast, ensuring the bread is non-alcoholic.

Carbon dioxide production can be measured to monitor fermentation.

Built with v0