I am using a reference (Cell biology by Zipursky) that says the complete oxidation of glucose yields:
6 CO2, 30 ATP and 36 H20.
I'd like to see where the ATPs and water are produced in the pathways and ETC.
Thanks so much.
It sounds like you are very new to molecular biology. Go read the standard chapter on cellular respiration in a current introductory biology textbook. You should find your answers in one of the figures.
One thing to keep in mind, the ATP production by the ETC is an estimate. The amount of ATP will vary depending on how many protons leak through the membrane, the type of ATP synthase, etc.
look at chapters glycolysis, tricarboxylic acid (Krebs) cycle and oxidative phosphorylation (cellular respiration) for the actual reaction cascades.
Basically: C6H12O6 + 6O2 -> 6CO2 + 6H2O + Energy
The energy is used to drive the phosphorylation of ADP to ATP, therefore if you assume a yield of 30 ATP, you additionally get:
30 ADP + 30 Phosphates -> 30 ATP + 30 H2O
As Kathie said, the ATP yield varies: most of the ATPs are produced in the step of oxidative phosphorylation, where the transport of electrons from the degradation of glucose to the reduction of molecular oxygen to produce water builds up a proton gradient across the inner mitochondrial membrane, which drives the ATPase to generate ATP from ADP.
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