The Mitochondia
By Gracie Bostwick
What does it do?
Are you living? You're welcome.
Thanks to the mitochondria (along with the cytoplasm), you are able to do the essential function known as cellular respiration, which supplies the cell with energy. Are you reading this? Tell your mitochondria thanks, because it gave you the energy to do so.
Cellular Respiration
Cellular respiration starts in the cytoplasm with glycolysis in the cytoplasm, where one glucose molecule is made into 2 Pyruvatic acids. During this, two ADP is turned into two ATP, which is energy.
With those two pyruvic acids, we move onto the Krebs Cycle in the mitochondrial matrix. The matrix is not a movie, but a fluid inside the inner membrane. This is where the pyruvic acid is broken down into three singular carbon molecules. In the Krebs cycle, we also take two more ADP and make it into ATP.
Finally, we get to the electron transport chain, where a ton of ATP is made, thanks to ATP synthase. This process takes place along the inner membrane of the mitochondria. With ATP synthase, Hydrogen goes in and gets turned into ATP, resulting in 38 total ATP molecules. And you are doing this every second of every day.