Mitochondria

TheMitochondriaarethepowerhousesofthecell.
Inthemitochondriaaseriesofcomplicatedbiochemicalreactions
occurcausingenergytobereleasedfromfoodbytheprocessof
respiration(usingoxygen).
TheenergyisintheformofATP(adenosinetriphosphate)which
canthenbeusedtodriveotherfunctionsofthecellandalsothe
organism.
Themoreactivethecell,themoremitochondriatherewillbe
present.
Forexampleamusclecellwouldcontainmoremitochondriathan
sayafatstoragecell.

Mitochondriaareshapedperfectlyto
maximizetheirproductivity.
Theyaremadeoftwomembranes:
Theoutermembranecoversthe
organelleandcontainsitlikeaskin.
Theinnermembranefoldsovermany
timesandcreateslayeredstructures
calledcristae.
Thefluidcontainedinthemitochondriaiscalledthematrix.
Structurerelatedtofunction:
Thefoldingoftheinnermembrane
increasesthesurfaceareainsidethe
organelle.Sincemanyofthechemical
reactionshappenontheinnermembrane,
theincreasedsurfaceareacreatesmore
spaceforreactionstooccur.
Theyalsocontaintheirongenetic
material,sothatwhenacelldividesthey

replicatethemselvesunderthecontrolofthenucleus.