Energy and respiration

I wanted to know why we use screw clip and three-way tap in respirometerand also
I was reading this chapter on Energy and Respiration and came across these lines that say : "ATP is the universal intermediary between energy yielding and energy requiring reactions used in a cell. ATP is the energy currency of the cell. The cell trades in ATP rather than making use of a number of different intermediates." What does it mean by "different intermediates" ..does it refer to organic molecules such as carbohydrates, fats etc. ?

Reply 1

john171

I'm not sure, but ATP is small and soluble making it an excellent energy currency.

I assume you're doing OCR Biology? If so, I'm pretty sure you don't need to know what the other intermediates are.

I can't really help you.

Reply 2

e-n-i-g-m-a

and do you have any idea what the screw clip and the three-way tap are used for in a respirometer?

Reply 3

Beauty_Queen

Isn't the three way tap used to reset the respirometer?

Reply 4

Iscariot

Other energy intermediates I believe they are referring to molecules such as GTP, UTP, etc. Even acetyl-CoA is capable of providing energy for energy requiring reactions... I doubt you need to know this for A-level biology though...