Can someone explain ATP?

Question

Just finished my Biology project, and now we have another! Yay.

So here is what I know, which isn't much and quite possibly wrong:

AMP =First
ADP =Second
ATP =Third (Triphosphate?)

I also know that they store energy.. but I know nothing about that. So how does the cell use this energy, and what exactly is it? Also how do you go from say a ADP to an ATP.. Or an ATP to a ADP (is going from 3 to 2 even possible)?

The section in the book was very confusing. So please.. explain to me the wonders of ATP and what their role is in a cell. I don't need to go very in depth, just generally what they do and how they are useful to the cell.

And please don't use big scientific words. They make life bad.

Edit: The teacher mentioned something about this in a past class. He said that cells want to have energy stored so the cell can use it when it needs it and not just use it all at once and not have anything after. Is that a reason why it's useful? W/e, explain please!

Answer 1

ATP is the molecule that cell's use directly for energy. Other energy molecules, like glucose, must have their energy converted to the energy of ATP before it can be used. It's kind of like how you have to cash a check and get actual money if you want to buy a soda from the soda machine.

ATP is adenosine triphosphate. It has three phosphates attached to it. The bonds between the three phosphates are high energy bonds. When ATP has its last phosphate broken off, the energy is released for the cell to use. The broken ATP parts are ADP and a phosphate. ADP is adenosine diphosphate. The cell will recycle these parts in another reaction and stick the phosphate back onto the ADP to make ATP again. This can happen over and over and over. It's kind of like the way you can take the cap off of a marker and then stick it back on again, and take it off, and put it on, off, on, off, on ... over and over.

If ADP is broken to release energy (not the usual case), then the broken parts are AMP and a phosphate. These can be stuck back together later, as well.

The energy from ATP is used for anything that requires energy in the cell: building compounds, active transport, moving cilia or flagella, constructing organelles, ...

Answer 2

Going from 3 to 2 is possible by hydrolosis(spelling wrong). water is added to ATP, and a phospahte group dettaches and releases energy.