Which of the following are the reactants (the substances used) in aerobic respiration?

Question

Which of the following are the reactants (the substances used) in aerobic respiration?

glucose and oxygen

water and oxygen

carbon dioxide and glucose

oxygen and water

Answer 1

The general formula for aerobic respiration is:

C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂ → 6CO₂ + 6H₂O + ATP

or

Glucose + Oxygen → Carbon Dioxide + Water + Energy

Reactants in a chemical reaction are the substances that start a chemical reaction, while products are the substances created by a reaction. In completed chemical reactions, the reactants will be found on one side of the equation and the products are found on the other. Because the reaction travels from the starting materials (the reactants) to the ending materials (the products), the side of the reaction with the arrow pointing away from it consists of the reactants and the side of the reaction that the arrow points towards consists of the products. Generally though, most reactions are written left to right, with reactants on the left and products on the right, but some teachers or professors will flip them over to see if a student is paying attention, so it is always important to double check the direction that the arrow is pointing towards in the formula.

So looking back at the formula for aerobic respiration, you can see that glucose and oxygen are found on the left side of the reaction, with the arrow pointing away from them, indicating that they are the reactants.