CE: Cell Respiration Lesson

Mighty Mitochondria

Even though you cannot see it, the mitochondria are organelles essential to living organisms.

Watch the video below to see how the mitochondria relate to you on an everyday basis.

What is Cell Respiration?

Cellular respiration is the process of using oxygen in the mitochondria to chemically break down organic molecules such as glucose. This releases the energy stored in the bonds of glucose.
It can get overwhelming - watch the presentation below for an introduction to the cell respiration process.

Let's Break Down Those Stages!

Select each stage below to learn more.

Stages Details

The video showcase below will walk you through the stages in detail. Be sure to watch them all!

Two Types of Respiration:

Aerobic & Anaerobic

Let's review Aerobic Respiration.

Aerobic respiration requires oxygen to make ATP. Two pyruvic acid molecules from glycolysis are modified and diffuse into the mitochondria where the next two processes occur.

*You might be wondering if we can use substances other than glucose (like the proteins or fats we eat) to get energy using cellular respiration.

The answer is yes!

Our bodies need to convert proteins or fats into chemicals that can enter one of the stages of cellular respiration.

See description of diagram Links to an external site.

What about Anaerobic Respiration?

If not enough oxygen is present, then glycolysis will still occur through the fermentation pathway. Processes that do not require oxygen are "anaerobic" processes. Fermentation is an anaerobic process. Cells that use fermentation generate very little ATP compared to cellular respiration.

Two forms of fermentation are lactic acid fermentation and alcoholic fermentation. Click on each form below to learn more.

Cell Respiration Challenge and Before You Go

Practice Time! Use the knowledge you learned from the lesson to complete the practice activities below.

Before You Go You Need To Know

The following key points are from the explore section of the lesson. You must know the following information before moving to the next lesson. This is just a summary of the key points.

1. What is the difference between aerobic and anaerobic respiration?
   • Aerobic respiration produces 36 ATP molecules in the presence of oxygen.
   • Anaerobic respiration occurs when no oxygen is present and only 2 ATP is produced.
2. What is the equation for cellular respiration?
   • Glucose + oxygen yields water, carbon dioxide, and energy
3. Where does cellular respiration occur in the cell?
   • Mitochondria
4. What are the two types of anaerobic respiration?
   • Another name for anaerobic respiration is fermentation.
   • There is alcoholic fermentation (produces bread and yogurt) and lactic acid fermentation (sore muscles).

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