Mitochondria joke: A mitochondria walks

a restaurant and orders a drink.

The Garson says "That'll be 80P
please."(80p is ATP)

What are mitochondria?

Mitochondria are important parts of
our cells because they take food and
make energy that the rest of the cell can

into

use.

How many mitochondria are in a cell?

Different types of cells have different
numbers of mitochondria. Some simple
cells
contain only one or two mitochondria. However, complex animal cells that need a lot of
energy, like muscle cells, can have thousands of mitochondria.
Respiration
Mitochondria produce energy through the process of cellular respiration. Respiration is
another word for breathing. The mitochondria take food molecules in the form of
carbohydrates and combine them with oxygen to produce the ATP. They use proteins
called enzymes to produce the correct chemical reaction.
Other Functions
In addition to producing energy, mitochondria perform some other functions for the cell
including cellular metabolism, the citric acid cycle, producing heat, controlling the
concentration of calcium, and producing certain steroids.

Interesting Facts about Mitochondria

They can quickly change shape and move around the cell when needed.
When the cell needs more energy, the mitochondria can reproduce by growing larger
and then dividing. If the cell needs less energy, some mitochondria will die or become
inactive.
Mitochondria are very similar to some bacteria. For this reason, some scientists think
that they originally were bacteria that were absorbed by more complex cells.
Different mitochondria produce different proteins. Some mitochondria can produce
hundreds of different proteins used for various functions.
In addition to energy in the form of ATP, they also produce small amounts of carbon
dioxide.

Meerah Almeraikhi and Sara Tariq 10GB