Open main menu

Mitochondria

Revision as of 19:45, 4 June 2019 by NRJC (talk | contribs) (Key Stage 4)

Key Stage 3

Meaning

A computer image of a mitochondrion showing inside.

A Mitochondrion is a part of a cell where respiration takes place.

Singular Noun: Mitochondrion
Plural Noun: Mitochondria
Adjective: Mitochondrial

Function

Mitochondria provide energy to the cell by respiration.

About Mitochondria

Mitochondria are used to release the energy from food.
Cells that need more energy have more mitochondria.
Sperm cells have a lot of mitochondria to provide the energy needed to swim to the egg cell.
Mitochondria are found in plant cells, animal cells and fungal cells but are not found in Bacteria.

Examples

Animal Cell Sperm Cell Root Hair Cell Palisade Cell
AnimalCellMitochondria.png
SpermCellMitochondria.png
RootHairCellMitochondria.png
PalisadeCellMitochondria.png

Key Stage 4

Meaning

A computer image of a mitochondrion showing inside.

A mitochondrion is membrane bound organelle found in eukarytotic cells that is the site of respiration.

Function

Mitochondria provide energy to the cell by aerobic respiration of glucose.

About Mitochondria

Mitochondria have their own DNA inside them and are roughly the size of a bacterium which suggests they were once an independent organism that migrated into eukaryotic cells.
Cells which need a large amount of energy such as muscle cells, sperm cells and root hair cells have a large number of mitochondria.
Mitochondria are found in plant cells, animal cells, fungal cells and protists but are not found in bacteria or archae.
Animal Cell Sperm Cell Root Hair Cell Palisade Cell
AnimalCellMitochondria.png
SpermCellMitochondria.png
RootHairCellMitochondria.png
PalisadeCellMitochondria.png