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When oxygen is not available — or cannot be supplied fast enough — cells can still release energy from glucose through anaerobic respiration. This process is less efficient than aerobic respiration but is essential for survival in low-oxygen conditions. This lesson covers anaerobic respiration in animals, plants and microorganisms for AQA GCSE Biology.
Anaerobic respiration is respiration that takes place without oxygen. It releases energy from glucose but produces different products and much less energy compared to aerobic respiration.
The key difference is:
When animal cells do not have enough oxygen (e.g. during intense exercise), they switch to anaerobic respiration.
glucose ---> lactic acid (+ energy transferred)
Note: there is no balanced symbol equation required for anaerobic respiration in animals at GCSE.
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