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Chapter 6: Life’s Mainspring: An Introduction to Energy Destinations

6.1 — Energy Is Central to Life

Thermal Vents
Although most of the energy for life on Earth comes from the Sun, biological communities exist using energy from other sources. One such type of community is that which develops around deep sea thermal vents. DLC-ME | The Microbe Zoo | Water World (http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/dlc-me/zoo/zwhotvent.html) gives a good overview of these communities. For a more in-depth review, read Ocean Planet: Popular Science—Creatures of the Thermal Vents (http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/OCEAN_PLANET/HTML/ps_vents.html). Then visit the Vents Program Home Page (http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/vents/home.html) to read about current research by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.

Keywords: deep sea vents

6.2 — What Is Energy?

Potential Energy
http://www.jersey.uoregon.edu/vlab/PotentialEnergy/
This site compares kinetic and potential energy and offers an animated experimental system you can use to explore these concepts.

Keywords: kinetic energy, potential energy

The Second Law of Thermodynamics
http://www.secondlaw.com/default.htm
Read this discussion for a more whimsical (but still accurate) view of the second law of thermodynamics, including its relationship to Murphy’s Law and other human foibles.

Keywords: second law of thermodynamics

6.3 — How Is Energy Used by Living Things?

Endergonic and Exergonic Reactions
http://library.thinkquest.org/27819/ch4_2.shtml
This site provides an overview of endergonic and exergonic reactions. Click on the quiz link at the top left of the page to test your knowledge.

Keywords: energy, work

6.4 — The Energy Currency Molecule: ATP

ATP
http://www.ultranet.com/~jkimball/BiologyPages/A/ATP.html
From Kimball’s Biology Pages, this is a concise but thorough overview of ATP structure and function.

Keywords: adenosine triphosphate

6.5 — Efficient Energy Use in Living Things: Enzymes

Enzymes
http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/E/Enzymes.html
Also from Kimball’s Biology Pages, this is an illustrated introduction to enzymes.

Keywords: enzymes, energy

6.6 — Lowering the Activation Barrier Through Enzymes

Energy, Enzymes, and Catalysis Problem Set
http://www.biology.arizona.edu/biochemistry/problem_sets/energy_enzymes_catalysis/energy_enzymes_catalysis.html
These pages from The Biology Project at the University of Arizona provide good illustrated overviews of the basic function of enzymes and further discussions of enzyme structure. Quizzes are also available covering the basic concepts.

Keywords: enzyme, Activation energy, induced fit

6.7 — Regulating Enzymatic Activity

Competitive and Noncompetitive Inhibition
http://web.mit.edu/esgbio/www/eb/kinetics/inhibition.html
This page compares and contrasts two important forms of enzyme regulation.

Keywords: competitive inhibition, noncompetitive inhibition