intro

• why are $C-H$ bonds a good source of energy?
• how does the size of the nucleus influence potential energy?
• why do molecules with more oxygen have less potential energy?
• oxidation of glucose

rapid combustion and controlled oxidation

• rapid combustion
• controlled oxidation

energy carriers

• dehydrogenases

summary

• Molecules with a large number of $C-H$ bonds are high energy molecules
  • fat molecules have many of these bonds
• potential energy that is stored in food molecules is released during oxidation reactions
• rapid oxidation reactions lead to a rapid loss of energy in the form of waste thermal energy
  • controlled oxidation reactions involve many steps
  • there is less waste energy because more released energy can be captured effectively
• during many cellular redox reactions, dehydrogenase facilitate the transfer of electrons from food to energy-carrier molecules
• $NAD^+$ is a common high-energy electron carrier molecule in cellular processes, which is reduced to the form $NADH$
  • provides a source of energy to drive ATP synthesis