Question

The energy stored in the cells of a living body is stored in the form of
A. fats
B. glucose
C. ATP
D. proteins

Answer 1

Hint: Every living being needs energy in order to work. Energy can neither be created nor be destroyed. So it has to be stored in some form in order to be utilized as and when required by the body.

Complete step by step solution:
-We can define energy as the capability to do some work. It exists in different forms and is found in all the living things as well as many non-living things. Different forms of energy for non-living substances are solar energy, wind energy, electrical energy, mechanical energy, chemical energy, etc.
-Energy can be transformed from one phase to another with a little loss of it to the surrounding. Total energy thus remains the same during any transformation. In living beings, energy occurs in many forms as carbohydrates, fats, sugar, ADP,ATP, etc.
-Energy is needed by everything and everybody to do work. While doing that, energy is transformed from potential energy to kinetic energy and vice versa. So a non-living thing can store these forms of energy and utilize it to do work.
-Living organisms cannot store energy in different forms. They get energy from food, sleep, breathing, etc. There is no concept of kinetic and potential energy in living organisms. Our cells need constant energy supply. All of it is not fulfilled by breathing and so we need energy sources.
-Free energy present in the cell can destroy the cell completely and so it is not available to the cells else it may lead to an increase in the body temperature. So cells store energy in the form of ATP which is called adenosine triphosphate.
-Energy is released to the cells when the terminal phosphate groups are removed from the structure of ATP which is also called energy currency of the cell. The released energy is used to do the work by the cells. The terminal groups are removed by the process of hydrolysis and convert into ADP.

So the correct option is C. ATP

Its structure can be shown as

Note: There are 3 types of phosphate groups in ATP which are called alpha-phosphate, beta-phosphate and gamma-phosphate. 1 phosphate group is added to adenosine monophosphate to form ADP and 1 phosphate group is added to ADP to form ATP.