Question

What is the difference between oxidative phosphorylation and the electron transport chain? Are they synonymous or does one follow the other?

Answer 1

Hmmm...
Subtle difference I think....

Explanation:

I have been pondering on this for a while, and it depends on how you look at it I guess:

In my view ETC's are a Mechanism , Oxidative Phosphorylation is a Process, just like Photosynthesis, which uses a slightly different ETC. (different species, so different complexes).

But I agree, both yield `ATP` as a result, though the ultimate Electron Acceptors are different:
in OP `O2` is transformed into `H_2O`, whereas in PS the result is: `O2`!

But I'll gladly give up this opinion for a better one...