Explain the process glycolysis briefly.

Glycolysis, part of cellular respiration, is a series of reactions that constitute the first phase of most carbohydrate catabolism, catabolism meaning the breaking down of larger molecules into smaller ones. The word glycolysis is derived from two Greek words and means the breakdown of something sweet. Glycolysis breaks down glucose and forms pyruvate with the production of two molecules of ATP. The pyruvate end product of glycolysis can be used in either anaerobic respiration if no oxygen is available or in aerobic respiration via the TCA cycle which yields much more usable energy for the cell.