EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Mitochondria are unusual organelles. They act as the power plants of the cell, are surrounded by two membranes, and have their own genome. They also divide independently of the cell in which they reside, meaning mitochondrial replication is not coupled to cell division.

Detailed explanation-2: -Mitochondria-often called the powerhouses of the cell-enable eukaryotes to make more efficient use of food sources than their prokaryotic counterparts.

Detailed explanation-3: -Mitochondria are known as the powerhouse of the cell because it is responsible for the extracting energy from food through cellular respiration. The energy is released in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). It is an energy currency of the cell.

Detailed explanation-4: -Mitochondria play a critical role in the generation of metabolic energy in eukaryotic cells. As reviewed in Chapter 2, they are responsible for most of the useful energy derived from the breakdown of carbohydrates and fatty acids, which is converted to ATP by the process of oxidative phosphorylation.

Detailed explanation-5: -A mitochondrion contains outer and inner membranes composed of phospholipid bilayers and proteins.