alleryStart learning →Why is the citric acid cycle described as amphibolic?
AIt uses both NAD plus and NADP plus
BIt runs in both mitochondria and cytoplasm
CIt works both with and without oxygen present
DIt is both catabolic and anabolic
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: D. It is both catabolic and anabolic
1. Catabolic pathways break molecules down and anabolic pathways build them up.
2. The cycle breaks acetyl groups down to carbon dioxide, which is catabolic work.
3. Several of its intermediate compounds can also be used in synthesizing non-essential amino acids, which is anabolic work.
4. A pathway that does both is described as amphibolic.
5. The cycle is confined to the mitochondrial matrix, so the two-compartment option is factually wrong.
6. It is an aerobic pathway, so working equally well without oxygen is not what the term means.
_Source: OpenStax Biology (1st ed., CC BY 4.0), Ch 7 "Cellular Respiration", section 7.3 Oxidation of Pyruvate and the Citric Acid Cycle_
Keep practising Cellular Respiration
Browse all Cellular Respiration questions for KCSE, or explore more Biology topics.
Related questions
Fill in the energy currency factsSplit the two electron carriersRoughly what free energy do the electrons carried by NADH hold as they enter the electron How is the rate of electron transport through the chain controlled?Besides being catabolized further, what else can the pyruvate produced by glycolysis becomWhich enzyme is described as the main controlled enzyme of glycolysis?What happens to glucose in a tissue where hexokinase has been inhibited?How does an allosteric effector change the behaviour of an enzyme?