How do you cells extract energy from the food you eat? Our bodies rely on that energy to carry out all of our life processes. Our cells use the mitochondria to preform cellular respiration. It needs oxygen from the environment and glucose from the food we eat. Once it has those it is able to convert those into ATP (adenosine triphosphate), and also makes waste products water and carbon dioxide. The formula looks like this:
There are 3 parts to cellular respiration, Glycolysis, Krebs Cycle, and Electron Transport Chain. Glycolysis occurs in the cytoplasm, it takes in glucose and splits it. Glycolysis produces 2 ATP. The Krebs Cycle occurs inside the mitochondria. It takes the products from glycolysis and produces 2 ATP molecules and it also releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as a waste product. The last step is the electron transport chain. This occurs on the inner membrane of the mitochondria. That is why the mitochondria has so many folds inside. This process takes in oxygen from the atmosphere and releases water as waste. It also produces 34 ATP for the cell to use. The net ATP produced is 38 ATP.
Watch the following video to get a better idea of what is happening during cellular respiration.
If you need more help, here is an animation that walks you through the process of cellular respiration.
Practice Problems
1. What is the chemical formula of cellular respiration?
2. How are cellular respiration and photosynthesis linked?
3. What are the 3 parts of cellular respiration?
4. Which part of cellular respiration creates the most ATP molecules?
5. Which part of cellular respiration occurs in the cytoplasm?
6. What is the net amount of ATP molecules that cellular respiration produces?
7. In which organelle does cellular respiration occur?
8. Which type of cell has a mitochondria, plant or animal?