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What is aerobic respiration

Aerobic respiration is the release of energy from glucose or another organic substrate in the presence of Oxygen. Strictly speaking aerobic means in air, but it is the Oxygen in the air which is necessary for aerobic respiration. Anaerobic respiration is in the absence of air.

 The pyruvate produced in glycolysis undergoes further breakdown through a process called aerobic respiration in most organisms. This process requires oxygen and yields much more energy than glycolysis. Aerobic respiration is divided into two processes: the Krebs cycle, and the Electron Transport Chain, which produces ATP through chemiosmotic phosphorylation. The energy conversion is as follows:

C6H12O6 + 6O -> 6CO2 + 6H2O + energy (ATP)


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