When chemical, transport, or mechanical work is done by an organism, what happens to the heat generated?
A) It is used to power yet more cellular work.
B) It is used to store energy as more ATP.
C) It is used to generate ADP from nucleotide precursors.
D) It is lost to the environment.
E) It is transported to specific organs such as the brain.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

According to the first law of thermodynamics, energy cannot be created or destroyed, only converted from one form to another. When an organism performs work, some of the energy is converted to mechanical, chemical, or transport work, but the rest is inevitably lost as heat to the environment. This is known as entropy, or the measure of disorder in a system. Therefore, the heat generated during cellular work is ultimately lost to the environment.

When Chemical, Transport, or Mechanical Work Is Done by an Organism