Answer to Question #151610 in Cell Biology for Serenity

Question

if an athlete is running a marathon (26.2 miles) explain how the athlete would experience a change in energy production using the concepts of aerobic and anaerobic respiration

Answer 1

At the beginning of the marathon, the athlete has adequate oxygen to break down the glucose to produce energy. This is aerobic respiration, that is, oxygen is used for the breakdown. Theoretically, the energy produced in aerobic respiration is 38ATP.

But as time goes on (towards the end of the marathon), the available oxygen is exhausted and energy has to be produced without oxygen. This is Anaerobic respiration. Theoretically the amount of energy produced in an anaerobic respiration is 2ATP.