Why mitochondria is called the power house of cell?

Answer 1

Let's break down each of the steps so you can see how food turns into ATP energy packets. The food we eat must first be converted to basic chemicals that the cell can use. Some of the best energy supplying foods contain sugars or carbohydrates. Let's take bread, for example. The polysaccharides known as starches are broken down by enzymes in your saliva (salivary amylase) and in your duodenum via pancreatic amylase into the simplest form of sugar which is called glucose. The resultant glucose is then absorbed into your blood from your duodenum. The glucose is then carried throughout your body to all of your cells.

The pancreas also releases the hormone insulin which "docks" on the membranes of cells throughout your body. Insulin docking causes glucose transporters to be inserted into the cell membrane from inside.. Then, glucose enters the cell where it is broken down into pyruvate molecules via the process known as glycolysis. Pyruvate enters mitochondria where it is processed by the Krebs Cycle, the electron transport system and the ATPsynthase. Carbon dioxide, water and heat are produced as wastes and oxygen is used to produce about 38 ATP per glucose that enters a cell. The process that begins with glycolysis and includes the Krebs cycle, electron transport and the ATPsynthase is called Cellular Respiration.

All of these wastes are released by powerhouses that burn coal to make electricity. They also need oxygen to burn the coal. ATP is therefore a converted form of energy that cells can use to do cell work such as muscle contraction. With powerhouses, the electricity output is used to do work such as running an air conditioner in your home.

Therefore mitochondria are called the powerhouses of cells because the convert chemical energy into a form that can be used by cells to do work.

Answer 2

Let's break down each of the steps so you can see how food turns into ATP energy packets and water. The food we eat must first be converted to basic chemicals that the cell can use. Some of the best energy supplying foods contain sugars or carbohydrates. Let's take bread, for example. Using this as an example, the sugars are broken down by enzymes that split them into the simplest form of sugar which is called glucose. The pancreas releases insulin molecules which "dock" on the cell's membrane. Then, glucose enters the cell by special molecules in the membrane called "glucose transporters". Once inside the cell, glucose is broken down to make ATP. That process is done with the Kreb's cycle inside the mitochondria. This ATP is generated with glucose and oxygen (magnesium, CoQ10 and some other helpers). It then runs all of the cells functions. Like a car can not run without gasoline,our cells cannot function without ATP. So mitochondria make the "gas" our cells run on.Oxygen is required to run the Kreb's Cycle. .Without adequate oxygen,adequate ATP is not produced and our cells don't have energy. Balaji Jonnadula M.Sc (Ph.D)Microbiology 9440031596 baluqualisj@gmail.com India