Answer:
oxygen is reduced to form water.
Explanation:
Cellular respiration
It is the set of reactions in which the ac. Pyruvic produced by glycolysis is split into CO2 and H2O and 36 ATP are produced. In eukaryotic cells breathing is performed in the mitochondria. It occurs in two stages:
- PIRUVATE OXIDATION
- AC CYCLE TRICARBOXYL
The "problem" with fermentation is that, by using organic molecules as terminal electron acceptors and having to dispose of the resulting product (lactic acid / ethanol) as waste, the potential energy of these compounds is lost.
The alternative solution is to use some non-organic molecule that can accept electrons and thus become a reduced molecule. Oxygen is perfect for this, because after receiving the electrons it combines with two protons, thus becoming the perfect liquid residue for the environment: H2O.
