This document discusses cellular metabolism, including energy transformation through metabolic pathways. It covers: 1) Metabolism involves catabolic pathways that generate ATP through the breakdown of molecules, and anabolic pathways that use ATP to synthesize biologically important molecules. 2) Enzymes speed up metabolic reactions by lowering their activation energy. They are protein catalysts that participate in reactions without being consumed. 3) Metabolic pathways involve a series of coupled enzyme-catalyzed reactions that either release or store energy by converting molecules into higher or lower energy states. This facilitates cellular work and biosynthesis.