Question

In aerobic respiration, how many pyruvic acids are produced from one glucose molecule?

Answer 1

two.

the number of carbon atoms doesn't change up until here, since there is no CO2 produced just yet. you make glucose-6-P by investing one ATP, then fructose-1,6-bisphosphate by investing another ATP. this is cleaved in half to receive 2x GAP, which is then processed into pyruvate. your body builds 2x ATP per pyruvate in the process, leaving you with a net ATP yield of 2 ATP per molecule of glucose.