- Cellular respiration consists of three main stages: glycolysis, the citric acid cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation.
- Glycolysis breaks down glucose into pyruvate, generating a small amount of ATP through substrate-level phosphorylation.
- The citric acid cycle further oxidizes pyruvate and other molecules, generating more ATP and electron carriers.
- Oxidative phosphorylation generates the majority of ATP through an electron transport chain that harnesses the energy of electron transfers to power ATP synthesis.