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Chapter 5 - Gibbs free energy – applications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

Donald T. Haynie
Donald T. Haynie
Affiliation:
Central Michigan University
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Summary

Introduction

The Gibbs free energy is important in biology research because it enables one to predict the direction of spontaneous change for a system under the constraints of constant temperature and pressure. These constraints generally apply to all living organisms. In the previous chapter we discussed basic properties of the Gibbs free energy, showed how its changes underlie a number of aspects of physical biochemistry, and touched on what the biological scientist might do with such knowledge. Here, we build on the introductory material and explore how it can be applied to a wide variety of topics of interest to the biological scientist. A range of examples illustrate when, where, why, and how the Gibbs free energy is such a useful concept. We shall discuss the energetics of different types of biological structure, including small organic molecules, membranes, nucleic acids, and proteins. This will help to give a deeper sense of the relatedness of some seemingly very different topics one encounters in biological science.

Photosynthesis, glycolysis, and the citric acid cycle

This section presents a low-resolution view of the energetics of photosynthesis, glycolysis, and the citric acid cycle. There can be no doubt that the details we omit are important: entire books have been written on each subject! But our aim here is to consider biological energy in a global, qualitative way. We want to try to see “the big picture.”

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Biological Thermodynamics , pp. 134 - 206
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2008

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