Question

How many total ATP molecules are produced by 1 molecule of glucose completing cellular respiration?

Answer 1

Cellular respiration consists of three stages: glycolysis, Krebs cycle, and electron transport. In the first stage, a single glucose molecule is converted into two pyruvic acid molecules. In the second stage, two more ATP molecules along with 10 NADH and 2 FADH2 molecules are produced. The last stage uses molecules of NADH and FADH2 and produces 32 ATP molecules. Hence after completing cellular respiration 36 ATP molecules are produced with only one molecule of glucose.