Cardiorespiratory System
1) What energy system(s) would the following athletes utilize: a 100m sprinter (who runs a 100m race in 10 seconds flat), an 800m runner (who runs the 800m in two minutes flat), and a 10,000m distance runner (who runs a 10km race in 30 minutes flat). Also, discuss if each athlete might use more than 1 system as well as what system that athlete would predominantly utilize the most. Finally, be specific in describing why each athlete uses their particular energy system(s) (160pts).
OR
2) Identify the 3 main energy processes/cycles that the human body utilizes to produce ATP from catabolizing 1 molecule of glucose. Describe in great detail the “raw products” that go into each cycle as well as the “end product” that comes out of each process. Finally, discuss why it may be better to utilize free fatty acids as a raw source of fuel versus carbohydrates and explain why it is the body’s preference not to use protein as a source of fuel unless it has to do so (160pts).
Sample Solution
Within cells, energy is provided by oxidation of “metabolic fuels” such as carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins. It is then used to sustain energy-dependent processes, such as the synthesis of macromolecules, muscle contraction, active ion transport, or thermogenesis. The oxidation process results in free energy production that can be stored in phosphoanhydrine “high-energy bonds” within molecules such as nucleoside diphosphate and nucleoside triphosphate. Among them, ATP is the effective central link – the exchange coin – between energy-producing and the energy-demanding processes that effectively involve formation, hydrolysis, or transfer of the terminal phosphate group. In general, the main energy source for cellular metabolism is glucose, which is catabolized in the three subsequent processes – glycolysis, tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA or Krebs cycle), and finally oxidative phosphorylation – to produce ATP.
