Question

The breakdown of ATP releases energy, which is utilized by other reactions that require energy. Identify other examples where inventions have utilized a similar principle, where energy released during one reaction is utilized elsewhere. List three reasons why either one of the processes is more efficient than the other.

Answer 1

There are thousands of examples (no, possibly millions) one can cite for this case. Some examples are as follows:
1. When a light bulb is switched on.
2. When cooking food [chemical potential energy in the fuel is converted into heat & light energy; or electrical energy is converted into heat energy (if a hotplate is used)].
3. Electroplating (electrical energy is converted into chemical potential energy).

For all the reactions, one process (the energy releasing process) has to be more efficient than the other process (which absorbs the energy). This is due to the following:
1. Energy loss at each step of the conversion, which means that some energy is lost since no process is 100% efficient.
2. Energy cannot be created, so it is not possible for a process which requires more energy than is being supplied to function optimally.
3. If the energy releasing process is not as efficient as the energy requiring process, an alternative energy source would have to be coupled into the reaction (thereby increasing the energy conversion efficiency of the entire process) to supply the desired energy for the reaction to occur.