Biology Bioenergetics NUMS 2022
PMDC Verified Question 49 of 67
If oxygen is available, complete breakdown of glucose produces _ ATP molecules in prokaryotes.
A
20
B
36
C
38
D
40
Tap any option to test your recall and reveal the step-by-step Propolis autopsy.

Propolis Cognitive Error Autopsy

Official Correct Choice:
Option D: 40
Concept:

Cellular respiration yields ATP through substrate-level phosphorylation and oxidative phosphorylation.

Solution:

  • In prokaryotes, the complete breakdown of glucose yields a net of 38 ATP.
  • However, during the preparatory phase of glycolysis, 2 ATP are consumed.
  • Therefore, the total (gross) production of ATP molecules during the complete breakdown is 38 (net) + 2 (consumed) = 40 ATP.


Why other options are incorrect:

  • 38 is the net ATP yield in prokaryotes.
  • 36 is the standard net ATP yield in eukaryotes (due to the cost of transporting NADH into the mitochondria).

Quality & Fidelity Assurance: Every question on BeambePrep is rigorously curated against the official PMDC syllabus with zero filler, zero out-of-syllabus content, and zero typos. When an authentic past paper originally contained a historical mistake or ambiguity from the examining board (such as UHS or NUMS), BeambePrep faithfully reflects the original paper while detailing the nuance and scientific consensus in the autopsy above.

Previous Question All Bioenergetics MCQs Next Question

Want to solve full-length papers under timed exam conditions?

Practice with zero-scroll lockdown sprints, dynamic latency zone timers, live peer selection telemetry, and the automated Amber mistake recovery loop.

Enter Arena Sprint iOS App Android App