Top NEET Traps to Avoid

1. "Glycolysis occurs in mitochondria" — WRONG. Glycolysis occurs in the cytoplasm. It predates the evolution of mitochondria and occurs in all living cells, including anaerobes that lack mitochondria entirely.

2. "ATP yield is always 36" — INCOMPLETE. The NEET standard answer is 38 ATP. The 36-ATP value is obtained only when the glycerol-3-phosphate shuttle is used for cytoplasmic NADH. Unless the question specifically mentions this shuttle, answer 38.

3. "$FADH_{2}$ yields 3 ATP like NADH" — WRONG. $FADH_{2}$ enters the ETS at Complex II, bypassing Complex I. Since Complex I is a proton pump and $FADH_{2}$ skips it, only 2 ATP are produced per $FADH_{2}$ (vs 3 for NADH).

4. "Fermentation is aerobic" — WRONG. Fermentation is strictly anaerobic. "Fermentation" in biology refers to incomplete anaerobic oxidation, not the large-scale industrial process.

5. "Pyruvate directly enters the TCA cycle" — WRONG. Pyruvate must first be converted to acetyl CoA (via the link reaction / oxidative decarboxylation). Pyruvate itself is not a TCA cycle intermediate.

6. "RQ for fats > 1" — WRONG. Fats have RQ ≈ 0.7 (< 1). Organic acids (e.g., malic acid) have RQ > 1 because they are already partially oxidised. Do not confuse fats with organic acids.

7. "Complex II pumps protons" — WRONG. Complex II (succinate dehydrogenase) transfers electrons from $FADH_{2}$ to CoQ but does NOT pump protons. Only Complexes I, III, and IV are proton pumps.

8. "The TCA cycle is catabolic only" — WRONG. The TCA cycle is amphibolic — it serves both catabolism and anabolism. Its intermediates are precursors for amino acid and fatty acid synthesis.

9. "Cytochrome c is lipid-soluble" — WRONG. Cytochrome c is water-soluble (peripheral protein in the intermembrane space). Ubiquinone (CoQ) is the lipid-soluble mobile carrier.

10. "Fermentation produces 4 ATP" — WRONG. Only 2 ATP (net) are produced via glycolysis during fermentation. Four ATP are produced but 2 are consumed in the investment phase.