What factors influence the rates of aerobic respiration in plants and animals?
Aerobic respiration is a reaction that has a long list of enzymes, coenzymes and other cofactors involved. Just like any reaction there are reactants and products. The reactants are glucose, oxygen, ADP and inorganic phosphate. And the 2 products are carbon dioxide, water and ATP. So you can influence the rate of the reaction by controlling the amount of the reactants. If there isn’t enough oxygen present, the reaction will slow down. In such an instance, oxygen is the limiting factor. Let’s say that glucose, oxygen, ADP and inorganic phosphate are plentiful. You can still influence the rate of reaction by using temperature. As things cool down, the rate of the reaction slows down. As they heat up, the reaction proceeds at a more rapid rate. As long as neither glucose nor oxygen are limiting factors for the reaction temperature can significantly affect the rate. As warm blooded animals, humans regulate our internal temperature. This helps maintain relatively high rates of aerobic respi
