Exercise and The Metabolism Quiz

The body needs to take in more oxygen and transport it around the body to provide the energy for movement during exercise.

This extra oxygen is transported to the muscles via the circulatory system. 

As a result, the breathing rate, breathing depth (how much air you take in with each breath) and heart rate all increase.

You will also notice you start to sweat and this is a response to increased body temperature. Homeostasis in the body is the process of maintaining internal body conditions. Learn more and test yourself with our Hormones and Metabolism Quiz

This is a quote from the AQA GCSE Specification. “Metabolism is the sum of all the reactions in a cell or the body.”

The most important information for you to know is that metabolism includes the conversion of materials we eat into other more useful forms.

For example, animals convert glucose into glycogen which is stored in the muscles and liver and used to store energy. 

Plants instead convert glucose into starch for energy storage and cellulose to make up their cell walls (animals do not have cell walls).

Glycogen and starch are also converted back into glucose by the body to be used in respiration for energy.

Triglycerides are a form of lipids created by combining a glycerol molecule with three fatty acid molecules. 

Glucose and nitrate ions are combined to form amino acids which are then used to synthesise proteins. Excess proteins are broken down into urea which is excreted when we urinate.

It is important to remember that smaller molecules that we combine to make larger ones are known as monomers. We combine monomers together to make polymers.

Summary of monomers to polymers:

• amino acids ⇌ proteins
• glucose ⇌ starch (in plants)
• glucose → cellulose (in plants)
• glucose ⇌ glycogen (in animals)
• Fatty acids/glycerol ⇌ lipids