How does glycolysis help cells obtain energy from glucose?

Glycolysis is a sequence of 10 chemical reactions that occurs in most cells to break down one molecule of glucose into two molecules of pyruvate. This process helps cells obtain energy by capturing the chemical energy released during the breakdown of glucose and storing it in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP).12

During the glycolytic pathway, a net gain of two ATP molecules is achieved for each glucose molecule. This occurs through specific steps where energy liberated during the oxidation of compounds—such as the conversion of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate to 3-phosphoglycerate and the transfer of a phosphate group from phosphoenolpyruvate—is conserved as phosphate bond energy in ATP. Additionally, the process converts the coenzyme nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) into NADH, which can later be used to generate further energy in subsequent stages of cellular respiration. By producing both ATP and essential metabolic intermediates, glycolysis serves as a fundamental mechanism for meeting a cell's energy requirements.321