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Question 24 of 25

Q.For every CO2 molecule entering the C3 cycle, the number of ATP and NADPH required is:

(a) 3 ATP + 2 NADPH
(b) 2 ATP + 2 NADPH
(c) 3 ATP + 3 NADPH
(d) 2 ATP + 3 NADPH
Puducherry TnboardTamil Nadu HSC First Year (DGE) Board 2026MCQ· 1mImportance★★★★★
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Each CO2 fixed via the Calvin (C3) cycle consumes 3 ATP and 2 NADPH.

The C3 cycle (Calvin cycle) has three stages, and their ATP/NADPH usage per single turn (i.e., per one CO2 fixed) is:

  1. Carboxylation: CO2 combines with RuBP (catalysed by RuBisCO) to give two molecules of 3-phosphoglyceric acid (PGA) — this step uses no ATP or NADPH.
  2. Reduction: each PGA is converted to glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (G3P), a two-step process needing 1 ATP and 1 NADPH per PGA molecule. Since there are 2 PGA molecules formed per CO2 fixed, this stage consumes 2 ATP and 2 NADPH.
  3. Regeneration of RuBP: the acceptor molecule RuBP must be regenerated so the cycle can continue; this uses an additional 1 ATP (but no further NADPH) per CO2 fixed. …

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