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Making Sense of ATP Hydrolysis: How Students Reconcile Conflicting Ideas from Chemistry and Biology

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Title: Making Sense of ATP Hydrolysis: How Students Reconcile Conflicting Ideas from Chemistry and Biology
Language: English
Authors: Heidi Hall, Mingyu Yang (ORCID 0000-0003-2558-7074)
Source: Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education. 2026 27(1).
Availability: American Society for Microbiology. 1752 N Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-737-3600; e-mail: journals@asmusa.org; Web site: https://journals.asm.org/journal/jmbe
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 12
Publication Date: 2026
Sponsoring Agency: National Science Foundation (NSF), Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE)
Contract Number: 2244099
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Biology, Misconceptions, Chemistry, Energy, Scientific Concepts, College Students, Visual Aids, Knowledge Level
Geographic Terms: California
ISSN: 1935-7877
1935-7885
Abstract: Energy is a core concept across STEM, but disciplinary differences in how the topic is taught can lead students to develop a fragmented understanding. One well-documented misconception is that "breaking bonds releases energy," a belief especially common when biology students reason about adenosine triphosphate (ATP) hydrolysis. Using Hammer's resources framework, we investigated whether students' misconceptions about exothermic bond breaking stemmed from a failure to activate chemistry knowledge in a biology context, or from a complete absence of that knowledge. We conducted semi-structured interviews in which introductory biology students first explained why ATP hydrolysis releases energy and then chose the reaction coordinate diagram that best represented the process. Initially, most students claimed that ATP hydrolysis releases energy because bonds are broken. However, when prompted with a reaction coordinate diagram, one third of students spontaneously corrected themselves, realizing that breaking bonds requires, rather than releases, energy. These results suggest that even when introductory biology students make errors in chemical reasoning, many actually possess the relevant underlying knowledge (e.g., "breaking bonds requires energy") but fail to activate it in a biology context.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1504854
Database: ERIC
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Heidi+Hall%22">Heidi Hall</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Mingyu+Yang%22">Mingyu Yang</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2558-7074">0000-0003-2558-7074</externalLink>)
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  Data: American Society for Microbiology. 1752 N Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-737-3600; e-mail: journals@asmusa.org; Web site: https://journals.asm.org/journal/jmbe
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  Data: Energy is a core concept across STEM, but disciplinary differences in how the topic is taught can lead students to develop a fragmented understanding. One well-documented misconception is that "breaking bonds releases energy," a belief especially common when biology students reason about adenosine triphosphate (ATP) hydrolysis. Using Hammer's resources framework, we investigated whether students' misconceptions about exothermic bond breaking stemmed from a failure to activate chemistry knowledge in a biology context, or from a complete absence of that knowledge. We conducted semi-structured interviews in which introductory biology students first explained why ATP hydrolysis releases energy and then chose the reaction coordinate diagram that best represented the process. Initially, most students claimed that ATP hydrolysis releases energy because bonds are broken. However, when prompted with a reaction coordinate diagram, one third of students spontaneously corrected themselves, realizing that breaking bonds requires, rather than releases, energy. These results suggest that even when introductory biology students make errors in chemical reasoning, many actually possess the relevant underlying knowledge (e.g., "breaking bonds requires energy") but fail to activate it in a biology context.
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      – SubjectFull: Misconceptions
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      – SubjectFull: Chemistry
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      – SubjectFull: Energy
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      – SubjectFull: Scientific Concepts
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      – SubjectFull: California
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            NameFull: Mingyu Yang
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