What Is the Role of Oxygen in Aerobic Respiration?
Oxygen is used as an electron acceptor within the electron transport chain of aerobic respiration to generate adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. This compound is an essential component in intracellular energy transfer. Aerobic cellular respiration is in direct contrast of anaerobic respiration, which does not require oxygen.
Cellular respiration, whether aerobic or anaerobic, is a metabolic process which converts nutrient energy into ATP and waste products. In the human body, this translates into breaking down food into energy stored as sugars and then using that sugar to create ATP, which allows cells to perform vital life functions. ATP is essentially the “energy currency” which allows the energy transfer between sugar and cell to take place.