Which compound stores and releases energy and is made of a five-carbon sugar and three phosphate groups?

Which compound stores and releases energy and is made of a five-carbon sugar and three phosphate groups?

• A. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)
• B. Adenosine diphosphate (ADP)
• C. Adenosine monophosphate (AMP)
• D. Guanosine triphosphate (GTP)

Answer: (A)

Energy stored in ATP is accessed by its three phosphate groups. ATP is built from adenine attached to a ribose sugar (a five-carbon sugar) and three phosphate groups. The bonds between the phosphates store a lot of energy, and when the terminal phosphate is removed, energy is released to power cellular work. This combination of a ribose sugar and a triphosphate tail is what makes ATP the primary energy currency of the cell. The other options don’t fit the description as precisely. ADP has only two phosphates, and AMP has just one, so they don’t match the triphosphate setup. GTP is also a triphosphate nucleotide, but it uses guanine instead of adenine, so it isn’t the compound described by the five-carbon sugar plus three phosphates.

Energy stored in ATP is accessed by its three phosphate groups. ATP is built from adenine attached to a ribose sugar (a five-carbon sugar) and three phosphate groups. The bonds between the phosphates store a lot of energy, and when the terminal phosphate is removed, energy is released to power cellular work. This combination of a ribose sugar and a triphosphate tail is what makes ATP the primary energy currency of the cell.

The other options don’t fit the description as precisely. ADP has only two phosphates, and AMP has just one, so they don’t match the triphosphate setup. GTP is also a triphosphate nucleotide, but it uses guanine instead of adenine, so it isn’t the compound described by the five-carbon sugar plus three phosphates.