Question

Motor proteins convert

A) mechanical energy to chemical energy.
B) heat energy to mechanical energy.
C) kinetic energy to mechanical energy.
D) chemical energy to mechanical energy.
E) chemical energy to heat energy.

Answer 1

Motor proteins convert chemical energy to mechanical energy, enabling various cellular processes by moving along the cell's cytoskeleton.

Step-by-step explanation:

Motor proteins play a critical role in converting energy within the cell. The specific transformation they facilitate is the conversion of chemical energy to mechanical energy. This is analogous to how an internal combustion engine converts the chemical energy stored in gasoline into mechanical energy to move a car, or in a broader sense, how energy conversion works in different systems, like how our bodies convert the chemical energy in food into kinetic energy when we move. Motor proteins such as kinesin and dynein move along the cell's cytoskeleton and convert chemical energy, which is derived from the hydrolysis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), into the mechanical energy necessary for various cellular processes, such as vesicle transport and cell division.