Biology Forum Cell Biology Help! Speed of cellular respiration?

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    • #3859
      |sirius|
      Participant

      How fast is cellular respiration? How long does it take to complete the cycle for one glucose molecule? I really need this answer soon. I’ll be very grateful to anyone who can help me out.

    • #42282
      2810712
      Participant

      About values of rate and total time…i’m curious too…

      Conceptually i think,

      respiration involves many reactions-

      as far as i know, rate of reaction depends upon the conc.s of reactants at that moment. And the total time is integration of the rate vs. time curve,
      And the conc. may be different in different organisms , the total T can be diff. There can be maximum rate [ u can have maximum dissolved reactant concentration [solubbility product] and thus max. rate R when processe is continuous. { continuous, because u can freeze the scene to decrease R when the process isn’t continuous.]
      I doubt if we can have minimum rate and thus max. T, is there a minimum ionic product required to have reaction started? I think , no. So rate can be from Tmin to infinity , note it is not practically bound to be constant!

      INteresting q by the way…

    • #42289
      MrMistery
      Participant

      You have to take into account that cellular respiration will reach it’s maximum speed due to enzyme saturation way before it does before reaching the situation prezented earlier.

      Though i don’t think there is an average speed of cellular respiration(it is alosterically controled by enzyme synthesis) it can work at incredible rates. i read that a muscle cell uses 10 milion ATP molecules/second in contraction. You do the math…

    • #42345
      2810712
      Participant

      I think that’s what the figure is. But incredible! really really big figure…but just big because we are not used to handle such an ammount of currencey, i think. 😉

      Enzymes also involved , because its collision probability is also involved.

    • #42396
      |sirius|
      Participant

      Thanks for the input. It makes a lot more sense now. 🙂 I hadn’t thought it through properly before, and for some reason I didn’t think about the concentrations.

      It’s just a bit frustrating though, not having a general time frame to use to visualize it in my head.

    • #42611
      |sirius|
      Participant

      If anyone has an actual number for the average rate of cellular respiration in humans (even if it’s just a rough estimate), please post it.

      Thanks.

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