AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -After pyruvate is produced from glycolysis, it enters the mitochondria to begin aerobic respiration. Aerobic respiration begins with the conversion of pyruvate to acetyl CoA. This conversion takes place in three steps: decarboxylation, the reduction of NAD+, and the attachment of coenzyme A.

Detailed explanation-2: -The Bridge Reaction The first is the decarboxylation of pyruvate, and the second is the attaching of what is left to a molecule called coenzyme A. The end of the pyruvate molecule is a carbon double-bonded to an oxygen atom and single-bonded to a hydroxyl (-OH) group.

Detailed explanation-3: -Oxidation is defined as either the loss of electrons or the gaining of oxygen. In this case, pyruvate loses electrons in the process of creating acetyl CoA. Pyruvate is the end product of a biochemical pathway called glycolysis, a series of reactions that converts one molecule of glucose into two molecules of pyruvate.

Detailed explanation-4: -Overview of pyruvate oxidation Pyruvate-three carbons-is converted to acetyl CoA, a two-carbon molecule attached to coenzyme A. A molecule of coenzyme A is a necessary reactant for this reaction, which releases a molecule of carbon dioxide and reduces a NAD+ to NADH.